Neon and Glitter
by Silver as the Rain
Summary: For me as a teen, it was all about the makeup. Bright neon colours, glitter, flamboyant clothes that will simply shock your senses and the higher the heels, the better. However, let me tell you a thing. Saving the world in platform heels? Not easy neither practical, but hey, I managed it somehow, so who's to say a heroine can't also be feminine?
1. Chapter 1

"Come on! What's taking him so long?" Miles complained loudly, whining impetuously as he sat on the wall of the steps, swinging one leg as he chewed noisily on some gum with his mouth gaping wide in the most gruesome manner. It was ten minutes past the end of school and Sam _still_ hadn't come from his last class. This meant things hadn't gone so well with his exam paper, poor guy. However, as much a logical explanation I thought up in my brain, my mouth seemed to have other ideas.

"Who knows? Maybe he's finally getting laid." I mused with a shrug as I observed my nails, all perfectly painted a different colour with candy stickers delicately placed on top. A smile tugged on my lips, coloured a rather pale shade of violet today to match the streaks in my hair though people had commented about the mix and match of purple and bright ginger. I didn't care, whacky colours and bohemian or hippie clothing was my thing, so it didn't matter to me what anyone else thought. I tossed said intense copper red hair over my shoulder and tilted back my head to enjoy the sunlight as it was warm and pleasing against the skin.

"Yo check it out, it's the freak chic and the freak nerd." A couple of jocks whistled and cat called as they sauntered past, their eyes traversing my body which was clothed in a pair of ripped jeans, eighties style platform boots, a flared jacket and a shirt with an old band name on it which was so faded I couldn't even remember which one it was, however I'd altered it with sequins, glitter and patches to suit my style.

"So say the brainless jocks who got less of a package than a microorganism." I shot back at them and they frowned slightly, trying to figure out the insult whilst Miles snorted into his shirt which he had been using to wipe his nose. In the end they decided to simply leave us alone as someone else had called out to them, Trent, who then tossed a ball their way and they left in gaudy laughter with the popular girls trotting after them in their Gucci heels. Or was it Prada?

"You know you could so easily be one of them, Helen." Miles reminded me for the hundredth time since we'd met. "Since your dad is rich and all. Give yourself a day at the mall, buy all the clothes and stuff then they'll be practically putty in your hand for all that sweet dough you got."

"Now what would be the fun in that?" I answered him with a lazy grin, tilting my head towards him and opening my eyes so that the bright green could shine intensely against the smoky black and blue eye makeup I wore. At the tilt of my head my eyes went from green to hazel, changing slightly depending on the light as Miles frowned at me.

"Why wouldn't you want to be popular? Then you'd get invited to all the sweet parties and my social life would be totally set and I could pick up loads of chicks."

"Because popular people are predominantly jerks." I responded all too easily. "Besides, it's way too much effort trying to pick out the right outfits and fix your hair every day. For me it's easy, I just throw on what I want and I can put my hair up in my crazy bunches. Simple as pie." Miles looked over my rather ostentatious look with obvious dislike but didn't comment on it. "There he is, looks like he's alive." I gestured towards Sam who was practically skipped through the doors and waving his paper at us.

"A-minus!" He declared, waving his paper around as he raced up to us. "You know what that means?"

"Yup. New car, more movies so congrats, well done, top notch." Laughing as I hastily replied with acute sarcasm I punched him playfully on the shoulder. "Can we go now?"

"Congrats, bud, knew you could." Miles grinned then his smile faltered into a smirk. "Well, Helen could anyways. It's practically her paper after all. I bet you didn't get full marks because you strayed from her plan."

"Hey! I just added my own personal flare to the project." Sam answered hotly, a smirk tugging at his lips. "After all I was trying to sell things for cash too, what's the harm in that?"

"Hence you didn't get the A plus." I told him bluntly and this time Sam punched me teasingly on the shoulder and I grinned back at him. A car honked at us and we all looked up to see Ron, Sam's dad, waiting for them in his freshly washed and waxed car which shone rather intensely under the sun.

"Oh, gotta go. See you Miles." Sam high-fived Miles then ran to his dad to show him the paper, leaving me momentarily behind.

"Catch you later, Miles. Black Ops?" I asked and Miles nodded.

"I'll whip your butt." He promised me, grabbing me into a quick and tight hug before I then hurried to join Ron and Sam in the car, the latter of whom was still grinning as he gave me a thumb's up to say that his dad had approved of the A-minus which meant sooner or later, he would be getting his new car. Or at least, a second hand one.

"Hey Helen, good day?" Ron asked as I opened up the door and slid into the back of the convertible, effortlessly sliding inside and dropping my bag down as I relaxed into the sun blazed leather seats.

"It was decent enough. How about you Mr Witwicky?" I questioned him pleasantly, giving him a smile into his rear view mirror which earned me an approving smile in return. Ron had always liked how polite I was with him and how I could actually pronounce their surname correctly. Ever since Sam and I started school together we'd been friends as I'd stuck up for him against some bullies, the both of us ending up at the principal's office with me having a bleeding nose. When I heard Sam's father giving him a hard time over nothing, I'd made quite the introduction of myself and had seen them practically every day since. "You hear Sam's good news?"

"Only the moment he got to the car." He answered with a snort as he began to pull away then started to tell me all about his day, complaining about his co-workers and lamenting the fact that he was the only one who ever made any real effort at the office whilst Sam and I listened quietly, knowing better than to interrupt his ranting. After that Ron began to natter away about the neighbourhood, shouting at some of the idiots on the road or on the street and I have to say I found his commentary rather amusing.

"Please, dad, do you have to shout at everything and everyone who either drives on the road or crossed a street?" Sam groaned in embarrassment as Ron finished bellowing at a white truck that sped past us and almost clipped the wing mirror.

"It's their own fault for not driving more sensibly and being inconsiderate of others. What's the world coming to? I don't know." He muttered then lapsed into silence as I gave an amused laugh.

"It's road rage, Sam, very soon you'll be doing exactly the same thing." I promised him then looked up as we drove towards the Porsche garage, my interest peaking as I admired all the beautiful cars.

"I got a little surprise for you son." Ron said and I had to cover my mouth to stifle the giggles as I recognised the prank which was coming Sam's way. Poor Sam, poor sweet and gullible Sam.

"What kind of…" Sam trailed off as we pulled up onto the drive, slowly making our way over towards the shiny cars that lay there and his face instantly fell into one of pure shock and disbelief.

"Yup. A little surprise." Ron nodded his head, winking into the mirror at me who still could barely hold on to my laugh, shrinking down into the seat so that my best friend wouldn't notice me.

"No! No, no, no, no, no, no! Aw dad you got to be kidding me!" Sam yelled, grinning from ear to ear as he practically leaped out of his seat, ready to go car viewing until his dad spoke up rather bluntly.

"Yeah, I am." His face fell in the space of a second. "You're not getting a Porsche." Sam turned his head to glare at his dad who began to laugh and I finally released my own giggles, earning a glare as well but I just grinned cheekily. It was a good joke, Sam's face was a picture.

"You think that's funny?"

"I think it's very funny." Ron agreed. Sam looked back to me so I held up my hands.

"I'm not involved with this one, I'm just a spectator here." I informed him honestly and he growled, turning back to look accusingly at his dad who had driven back out of the garage and continued on our way.

"What's wrong with you?"

"You'd really think I'd get you a Porsche for your first car?" Ron continued to laugh as Sam pouted cutely. He really didn't take being teased well, it's too bad he couldn't see the humour. "You'd destroy it in a day, if not hours."

"I'm not talking to you for the rest of this thing." Sam pouted then turned his head away from his dad who merely shrugged and twisted back slightly towards me.

"That's okay, I'll just talk to Helen." Ron answered. "You'll talk to an old guy like me, right Helen?"

"Sure thing sir." I saluted him with a grin and winked quickly at Sam who caught it. "Want to tell me about your first car? It's a good story and perfect for the situation. You should remind Sam all about what happens when you try street racing and the dangers of drinking whilst driving just to make sure he's got it all." I suggested and Sam complained at me under his breath so I blew him a kiss to say that he's welcome, setting his dad off on another tangent.

"Ah! My first car…" He breathed then talked about cars all the way, a dreamy grin on his face. At least it kept him occupied and it let Sam and me simply sit in peace as he droned on. I knew enough about cars, thanks to Sam, and I had a great love for them. Especially the classics. I could clean one up easily enough, take care of a tyre or some obvious engine problems but I was no real mechanic which was why I was stoked that Sam was getting his first car. Knowing how cheap Ron is, it'll probably be second hand which meant it'll need a lot of work and fine tuning, which meant I could learn things and develop my skills as a sort of hobby. At least that's what I was hoping and I have to say, I was not disappointed.

The next time we pulled up, it was in some tacky junk pile with a lot of scrap metal. Oh excuse me, I meant an oriental car garage specialising in ancient and classic, even prehistoric models. "What is this?" Sam demanded, staring at the rows upon rows of rust ridden cars which looked ready for being stripped then scrapped, if I were honest. Maybe I'll have to do a little more research before I try getting my hands dirty with one of these. A tetanus jab wouldn't go amiss either.

"This, my boy, is where you're going to find the love of your life." Ron said to him proudly, clapping him on the shoulder as he walked past.

"And before you ask, it's not me, so don't get your hopes up." I noted him with a smirk as I also strode past, flicking him on the forehead before going towards an old fiesta. It was one of the cleaner looking ones however under the hood there lay a messy network of worn out wiring and what looked like various missing engine parts. Was this even fit to be sold? I doubted it would even start, let alone take a journey back to the Witwicky house. Hearing my best friend's voice I looked up as Sam continued to complain.

"No dad, you said half a car not half a piece of junk." He was saying.

"When I was your age, I was happy just with four wheels and an engine." Ron told him simply as he inspected an ancient looking mustang.

"Okay, let me explain something to you." Sam began but I didn't stick around to listen, going ahead to inspect some of the other cars whilst the owner of the garage went towards them with loud greetings and a rather irritating voice. I went from car to car, touching the bonnet and sometimes lifting the hood to look at the engine but didn't linger long, maybe I took a double take in disbelief at the state of these vehicles until I just became used to it. Most cars were just piles of trash but a few of them had potential, if you did them up with a nice paint job, that is. The next time I looked up, it was to see Sam in the seat of a car. It was a 1977 Chevrolet Camaro. Yellow with twin black racing strips. A classic.

"Nice car you got there Sam." I called and Sam looked at me, giving a smile of admittance as he wriggled in the seat.

"It feels nice."

"How much?" The guy looked up from shouting to his colleague at the sound of money.

"Well…considering the semi-classic nature of the vehicle, with the slick wheels and the custom paint job-" The guy began slowly until Sam interrupted him.

"But the paint's faded." He ducked down to look through the window.

"Yeah but its custom."

"Its custom faded?" Sam had a point. This car looked like it still had its original body of paint on it, which made it well over thirty years old.

"Well it's your first car I wouldn't expect you to understand." He shrugged then looked up to Ron. "Five grand."

"No I'm not paying over four, sorry." Ron shook his head.

"Come on kid, out the car."

"No wait, you said a car picks his driver." I couldn't help it, I gave a little snort at that. What kind of crap was this guy trying to pull? Cars picked their drivers? It's not some Jedi mind trick or anything like that, there is always another car out there. Besides, once Sam earned a little cash he'd upgrade his car and forget all about any first car he ever had.

"Yeah well sometimes the driver has a cheap-ass father. Out." He emphasised then opened the door, forcing Sam to get out who begrudgingly left the Camaro behind, moving on with the seller, Bobby, and his dad. When no one was looking, I slid into the driver's seat of the car just to see what Sam was talking about. The moment I rested my back against the car seat I had to admit, it felt rather nice and comfortable and the leather was warming against my back, so much so that I could feel it through my jacket but it wasn't unpleasant. Just comforting, in a way. "You're a beauty. Classic." I mused to myself, running a hand over the dashboard which caked my skin in layers of dust. "Shame Sam can't buy you." Without warning the opposite side door suddenly slammed open into the car next to the one I was sitting in, causing me to jump violently and grasp onto the steering wheel. "What the hell?!"

"Wow, Jesus, you alright?" Ron asked as Bobby pulled himself out the car.

"No worries! I'll get a sledgehammer and knock this all right out!" He laughed then shouted. "Hey Manny! Get your crazy clown cousin some hammers and bang this stuff out, baby." He continued to laugh albeit a little nervously as I recovered my breath, moving over to another car as I slackened my grip gradually. What the hell was that about? Can any car door do that on its own? "This one's my favourite, drove all the way from Alabama…" Just as I was about to slide out the car my eyes snapped towards radio as I heard a rather unsettling whirring sound and it buzzed into life, flashing.

"Greater than man…go!" It was robotic, something off the radio but before I could even respond, frown or swear I heard the sound of shattering glass everywhere, causing me to cry out in alarm and instinctively duck my head to cover it as the windows on every car were smashed to shards. Ron and Sam both screeched unceremoniously as they dived for cover onto the ground, glass flying everywhere. My entire body was tensed up, however when the glass of this particular car didn't shatter I loosened up a little, staring in shock at the freakishness of it all.

"What are you?" I whispered. The radio beeped before going silent. Panicking and hyperventilating a little I scrambled to get out of there, fumbling with the door handle until I got the door open and I leaped for freedom, hurriedly slamming the door shut behind me and streaking away. "Sam! Sam are you okay?" The glass crunched under my platform heels until I reached Sam, grasping his arm as well as his dad's, helping the both of them to their feet. "Watch the glass, be careful. Are either of you hurt?" I fussed over them with worry, my own nerves rattled and shaken but thankfully no one was actually hurt. With every car now without a single window, Bobby was staring around in horror before whirling around to face us.

"Four thousand!" My eyes widened, looking towards the suspicious car. No way was that thing normal, it just blew out the windows of every car surrounding it with just its radio. Right? Or was this all just some kind of weird coincidence. Either way, that car is weird.

"Sam don't, you saw what just happened right? That car is just…it's not normal."

"It's a car Helen, how can it not be normal?" Sam asked me as I gripped onto his arm tightly, not noticing I was holding on so tight until he gave a sound of pain so I hastily let go, blushing slightly as I answered.

"I don't know, it's just a gut feeling. Maybe we'd better go someplace else or just go car shopping another day." I tried to reason with him however Sam was adamant that he wanted that car. I swear, if I open that car and find no engine or battery, I don't think I'd be exactly surprised. Either it's a really messed up car or there's something different about it that I just can't quite put my finger on. All my nerves were on edge and the warning bells in my head were toiling pretty loudly.

"Please dad?" Ron frowned a little further, glancing my way so I tried to silently plead with him to see sense.

"I don't know…"

"Three thousand!" Bobby begged desperately, clasping his hands together. "Just please take the car!"

"Alright. Two and five hundred then it's sold." Ron nodded and Bobby hesitated for a brief moment, however when another car window shattered even further behind him he gave a shrill scream, covering his head before then nodding fiercely.

"Alright! It's a deal! And a full tank on the house! Just please, get it away." And that was how Sam got his first car. The tank was filled up, the money was paid and I sympathised with the fact that most, if not all of that money would go towards buying replacement windows for all the cars that had been wrecked.

"Yes! Alright." Sam cheered happily, tossing the keys up and down as he opened the door but then paused. "You not coming Helen?" I arched an eyebrow, eyeing up the car suspiciously before pointedly taking a large step backwards.

"No way in hell. There is something weird about that car Samuel Witwicky, so I'm going to stick to what I know is safe and approved by mechanics as road worthy. You don't even have an MOT on that thing!" I said to him pointedly but he just grinned at me excitedly, too animated by the fact that he had a new car that was all his and at a rather decent price. At least now he only owed his dad five hundred dollars instead of the original two thousand. I watched worriedly as Sam slid into the driver's seat then tried to start the car. Ron and I looked at one another as we listened to the pitiful spluttering sounds until the car guttered into life and spewed out a whole load of black fumes out the rear. "That car is a death trap Mr Witwicky."

"It's his first car." Ron answered as he got into the driver's seat of his own car which looked like a new model Ferrari compared to that classic yet rust bucket of a car that Sam now owned. "It's supposed to be like that."


	2. Chapter 2

"Hey mom, I'm home!" I shouted obnoxiously through the massive mansion that I called my home not two blocks from Sam's house. My voice echoed, carrying a fair distance as I stalked forwards, my heels clipping against the polished tiles of the floor which practically reflected my face.

"Helen! Where have you been?" A stern looking woman asked with a deep and disapproving frown of disappointment as she came out from the dining room. She was a woman of high social status and wore expensive suits all day every day with a face that looked like it was permanently sucking a lemon. In other words, my mother. "You are late for dinner, we had to start without you."

"I ate at Sam's." I answered curtly as I began to make my way towards the large winding stairs in the hopes that I could escape to my room and shut myself away in there for as long as I possibly could.

"You know that I do not agree with your relationship with that boy. He is far below you in terms of status and is not suitable as a social companion." My dear mother informed me rather bluntly as she followed me up the stairs, obviously not giving up the chase so easily yet even in these platform heels I could still out-strut her.

"Mom, Sam's just a friend, okay?" I told her yet again. It's like she has selective hearing and when I say selective, I mean she ignores everything that I say and hears only what she believes to be right. Unless there was gossip. If there was a single shred of gossip to be had then my mother would snatch it up in a heartbeat and hoard it until it could be used or spread appropriately. Quite honestly she was not a very nice woman. It was like high school never ended for her. It was all drama, drama and more drama.

"But you do like him, do you not? I am telling you this for your own good Helen, this boy is no good for you and it will tarnish your image as an upstanding lady of society." She accused, smoothing her perfectly ironed suit as she had to quickly hustle after me as I blushed slightly, my cheeks going red as I felt the flicker of old emotions stirring in my chest. The blush was for embarrassment more than anything however I hid it expertly.

"Well I used to but not so much now. I've kind of accepted the fact he's infatuated with one of the girls from school." I told her honestly before scowling. "Anyway, what is it any matter of yours? Who I hang out with is none of your business."

"I still do not approve!"

"Mom, you say this every day I walk into the house. Give it a rest, will you?"

"Petunia!" A voice shouted and I paused slightly as I approached my door, hearing dad from somewhere in the house, most likely upstairs in the master suite where he and mom slept. If they were ever home for more than a few days at a time, that is. "We're going to be late!"

"I'm coming, Tom!" My mom called back and I tried to end the conversation there by slipping into my room and closing the door however she caught me just before I could shut her out, pushing open the door smartly then instantly went over to my full length mirror, glancing herself over and correcting any imaginary wrinkles and touching up her makeup. I had my mother's hair, flame red that had now since faded to a dull coppery colour. To hide the fact that she was ginger, Petunia had always dyed her hair blonde though all that treatment was turning it brittle and lifeless.

Her eyes were light grey, her nose sharp and hooked and her lips were permanently set in a hard line. "You should be meeting up with other girls your age and stopping this nonsense rebellious phase you are going through. Where you get your taste in clothes from I am completely at a loss. If you went to private school like I had hoped, you would be surrounded by educated men and women of your own standing and would have much better influences around you. Perhaps you could even manage to get a boyfriend." My mother suggested as she picked up a powder pad and dabbed her face carefully.

"I don't want a boyfriend." Helen mumbled as she collapsed onto her bed.

"Nonsense. Every young girl wants a boyfriend. You are not going to stay young forever, use what little looks you have, my pet, before you lose them all together." My mother then slapped a little more red onto her lips then smiled at herself in approval. I had to fight not to roll my eyes as I tossed my back down and jumped onto my bed, landing on my back to then pull off my huge heeled shoes which immediately brought relief to my feet. It was hard walking in those things all day, but I loved them so I stuck with any pain just to feel fabulous in them. "Your father and I are going to a conference in Florida. We'll be gone for a few days." Hearing her move away across my room I sat up.

"And now is the only time you thought to tell me?" I demanded hotly with a glower so my mother glanced back.

"We had no idea we would be going until yesterday, it must have slipped our minds to inform you." She answered then left the room with a flick of her hand. "Goodbye my pet! Normal rules!" And that was it. No "I love you" or "have fun", just the rules. The rules could be located in a book that sat on every floor of the house, written by my mother. It stated which rooms were off limits, what food I could and could not have whilst my parents were away, no parties, no sleepovers, no drinking, no skiving school and various other things.

With a drained sigh I buried my face into my pillow. At times like this, I sincerely wished she had a pet. My mother could not abide animals so she used the excuse that she was allergic to them so that I was never allowed to get one. When I was younger I had brought a snake home, newly hatched and my mother had screamed before fainting. It didn't stay for very long. Sam had had to look after it before we released it into the wild.

Waiting until I was certain that both my parents were gone I listened carefully to the never ending silence of my home before getting up. With so many rules to abide by, it was a wonder I was allowed this much freedom with my clothes and appearance. It was a never ending battle with my mother and occasionally she would have the maids go through my things to try and root out where I kept all my less trendy things, however they were never successful. The trick was to always have things hidden in various places. In fact most of my clothes were at Sam's, so they were safe from being stolen and thrown away by my mother. In the end I think she was just starting to give up on me and I was fine with that. At least she did not pass snide comments about the various colours my hair had been these past few years.

Ignoring the rules I went down into the basement and found my skateboard which I had stashed away in another hiding place. After giving it a quick dust off I grabbed a backpack and filled it with games and food before going over to Sam's to stay with him. At least there I would get fed proper food and not tofu every other night. Plus Sam's parents loved me, they didn't mind at all how much I was around there. I boarded all the way there before I head around the back then freely walked in, casting a suspicious but otherwise uninterested glance towards Sam's new car. "Hey folks!" I called out with a wave, walking on the path.

"Ha! You see? At least someone uses my path." Ron said accusingly to Sam as he walked towards them from the house. I did not exactly get the reference but I made a mental note to myself. Always walk on the path, it is possible that Ron will get mad if you don't.

"It's our grass, dad, family grass. Grass is meant to be walked on path or no path. There aren't even any footprints." Sam tried to argue but gave up at Ron's look.

"Hey there Helen, do want anything to eat?" Judy asked me from where she was testing some of the paving stones which made up the path that ran up the garden and around the fountain to then lead to the house. She smiled so warmly at me that I couldn't help but naturally smile back. I'd only been gone less than an hour and already she was trying to feed me up again.

"No thanks ma'am. Would you mind if I left my pack and board here?" I asked with a lift of both items. Judy gave a wave of her hand and reassured me with her tone.

"Sure, sure, put your pack in the kitchen top with Sam's and your board out on the porch, don't even worry about it honey." She told me, gesturing towards the house before continuing to comment on Ron's paving skills. I gave a light chuckle, thanking them both politely before shooting a smile towards Sam

"Hey Sam."

"Hey." He smiled. "Back so soon? I see you got a fair supply there, you staying over or something?"

"Folks are out of town." I shrugged with that simple explanation. "I'll just drop these inside then I'll be ready to go." I told him, bumping shoulders with him before dashing up the path and put my board down before heading inside, wiping off my shoes on the mat before heading over to the kitchen where I grabbed Sam's bag and moved it to the table so that it was out of the way, putting them together before then heading back out into the garden. The sun was still pretty bright even though it was a little later, eventually it would turn chilly so I was glad I had grabbed a sweater. It had a large peace sign on it and I'd even changed into denim shorts which large sequin stars sewn on, changing my makeup for bright green eye shadow and blue lipstick with a bit of gloss.

"Ah! Hold on there mister, where are you going?" Ron demanded to know, looking up from his work as I came back and Sam announced that we were both leaving.

"To the lake, dad, with Miles." Sam told him honestly yet not quite revealing the entire truth. Sneaky. "I'll be back…whenever."

"Eleven." Ron said decisively then turned back to his work.

"Okay fine dad, eleven it is. Come on Helen, we still have to go pick up Miles. First real ride in the car is yours so you get shotgun all the way." Sam said to me, grabbing my hand to pull me along and I looked past him to that car of his. Instantly my stomach became unsettled.

"You sure you trust that car to get us there? I mean, it's not going to gutter out miles from home where there's no service or anything, right?" I fussed, observing the car carefully and nudged it precariously with my wedge heeled foot, pouting slightly. It gave no response but that wasn't to say that my suspicions were wrong.

"It'll be totally fine, you know these classics, completely reliable and stubborn to the end. It's not going to fall apart so quite worrying and get in already." Sam said with laughter in his voice, ruffling my hair before pushing me towards the passenger side with an obvious eagerness to get going. With a sigh I grabbed onto the door and slowly slid inside, praying to god I wasn't going to regret this. There wasn't that same comfortableness as before due to my own paranoia that this car was suddenly going to give out another radio wave and either all the windows of the houses were going to smash or something was going to blow up.

"We want you back by eleven, alright?" Judy repeated sternly to Sam who hurried back to his own side as I took a long and steady break. "And please for the love of god drive safely!" Sam grinned back at her.

"And also, please don't kill us or anything." I murmured to the car specifically before lifting myself out of my seat and gave Judy a wave as I leaned out the window, looking over the car roof with a passable smile of confidence. "I'll keep him in line, ma'am, don't you worry!" I called to Judy then slid back into the passenger seat and reached for the belt. "Sam I swear to god if this car ends up killing us, I am going to find you in hell and cause you suffering so much worse than purgatory that you'll be begging for solitary confinement." I warned him as he climbed in and cranked the door shut.

"Come on Helen, have I ever yet let you down?" He questioned me however at my deadpan expression, he paused a moment to reflect before nodding his head. "Point taken." Turning his attention to the car, Sam wrestled with the keys until finally it spluttered to life and it lurched forwards, my hand instantly grabbing onto the dashboard to steady myself as I was thrown about in my seat rather violently.

"God damn it Sam, drive more carefully!" I shrieked, my shoulder hitting the door as he turned sharply out of the driveway without even checking to see if the coast was clear. "You're going to kill us. Forget the car, you'll be the one who ends up getting us plastered into the sidewalk." Sam laughed, telling me to chill out and fiddled with the radio which instantly made me squeak and shrink back warily however when he finally tuned into a station, the upbeat song made me relax. Maybe I just imagined everything before. I mean, it's just a car, right?

By the time we reached Miles's house to pick him up I had calmed down completely, relaxing into the comfortable seats as we then continued on to the lake. Miles talked in the back non-stop, telling us all about his latest gaming campaign which he was trying to get Sam and I into but quite honestly, we did not all share the same interests and this Dungeons and Dragons was one of them. "It's sweet man, you guys are gonna love it." He promised as we pulled up to the lake. "But dude, seriously, are you sure we're invited to this thing?"

"Of course Miles, it's a lake. Public property." Sam assured him as he put the car in neutral then applied the brakes. Hopefully those things would hold. At least it's a flat ground otherwise this car might have ended up rolling away due to faulty brakes. I slid out the car and glanced around before looking to Sam who had paled considerably. "Oh my god, oh my god Michaela's here." He gasped, having his own minor panic attack.

"Cool it Sam, stop hyperventilating." I advised him so that his head turned towards me.

"But Helen it's _Michaela_ , the girl I've had a crush on since forever." He reminded me so I knocked him on the head to try and snap some sense back into him, leaning against the hood of his car as Miles started to climb a tree, off in his own little world. "Hey!"

"Deep breaths, calm down, go to your zen place." I directed him, circling my palms and indicated that he should breath with me, helping to calm him down enough so that he didn't look like he was about to pass out. "There, much better." I smiled victoriously, ruffling his hair. "Now go out there and make lots of little friends, I'll be cheering for you!"

"Wait what?! You're not coming with me?"

"Uh no, I agreed to take a ride, I didn't say I'd actually do any socialising with these stuck up hormonal ridden teenagers." I answered him simply, pushing my hands against the hood of the car and sat myself down more comfortably so that I could cross my legs, tugging at one of the neon yellow ribbons of my wedge sandals.

"No way that's not fair, I can't go down there on my own I'll look like a total loner."

"And you think me being there is going to do your image any favours?"

"Just come with me, please?" We hissed and argued at one another in a rushed argument, trying to dissuade and persuade at the same time until a rather arrogant and dreadfully sarcastic voice interrupted us, making me slowly turn my face towards the culprit and arched an eyebrow. Just great, now we got football jocks honing in on us.

"Hey bro. That car, it's nice." Trent said without a hint of sincerity as he came up to us. Sam did the smart thing and didn't answer though he shifted awkwardly, unsure of what else to do as Trent stopped in front of him, easily at least three times his size with all that muscle. That guy had to be on steroids of some sort, he was just way to huge to be a normal teenager like us. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Um…we're here to climb this tree." Sam spoke without thinking, gesturing towards Miles who was hanging out by himself. Quite literally hanging. Upside down.

"I can see that. It looks, uh, fun." Trent said slowly, shooting Miles a puzzled look before turning back to Sam. "You know I think I recognise you. You tried out for the football team last year, right?" Trent liked to pick up that particular subject every now and then. It was kind of a sore spot for Sam considering how spectacularly he'd failed.

"Oh no, no, that wasn't like a real try out, I was researching for a book I was writing at the time." Sam answered quickly before his brain could even kick into gear. After speaking he turned his head back slightly and looked towards me desperately seeking assistance or a rescue however I just smirked and adjusted my heart shaped shades and leaned against the windshield of his car, relaxing into the baking sun. Time to put on your big boy pants now Sam, I'll just sit back and watch the show a while.

"Oh yeah? What was it about? Sucking at sports?" Trent suggested and everyone behind him laughed at the jab. Honestly, a four year old could come up with a jest like that. Sarcasm was a dying art form with people like that around.

"Haha. No, it's about the link between brain damage and football. No, it's a- it's a good book. Your friends would love it. You know, it's got mazes in it and, you know, little coloring areas, sections, pop-up pictures. It's a lot of fun." Trent glanced away momentarily to figure out the fact that Sam was insulting him before squaring his shoulders.

"That's real funny." At once both myself and Michaela moved to stand in front of the guys. I moved quickly, my hand gently placing itself against Sam to push him back, angling myself towards Trent with a dark scowl as Michaela calmed down her wall of muscle.

"Hey, you know what? You want to stop." She told him firmly then drew him away by the arm, leaving Sam and me behind so I exhaled with relief as Sam did the same.

"I think I saw my life flash before my eyes." He complained before turning towards Miles and muttering under his breath. "Get out of the tree. Just, get out the tree, right now."

"What? What's the matter?" Miles asked, dropping to the ground as Sam stalked back to his car. Guess this didn't exactly go as planned. Looks like we'll be having our usual night at the arcade after all. That was fine by me, I hate these kinds of parties and it'll only piss me off how much litter will be left behind in the morning anyway. As Sam and Miles argued I climbed into the backseat of the car, noting how there weren't any seatbelts. Maybe I should suggest to same to install some kind of safety feature back here. No seatbelts was a bad idea, anything could happen in an accident and someone could go right through the window.

Miles dove into the car through the window, scrambling and flailing awkwardly until I laughed. "You're such an idiot Miles, you couldn't just open the door like a normal person?" I asked him before leaning forwards as he grinned up at me.

"It's more interesting this way, don't you think?"

"Sure. Need help?"

"Um…yeah. Yeah I'm stuck." Grinning down at him I helped untangle his arms and feet, the both of us distracted however when I suddenly heard the radio whir into life I gave a loud yelp and sprung back against the seats, grasping onto anything I could latch onto for support as the radio starting to sing out to us. Had Miles knocked it accidentally? It was possible, but I was sure that neither of us had been touching it at all. Maybe this car is possessed by a ghost and that's why all these freaky things keep on happening. Holy crap, can cars even get possessed?! "Hey man what's up with your radio?" Miles went to kick it but I quickly batted his foot away in a panic.

"Don't hit the car!" I squeaked at him, warily watching the radio. "You'll might make it angry or something."

"What are you talking about? It's a car." Miles reasoned with me however when Sam spoke from outside, both of us looked up.

"I'm going to drive her home tonight." Sam murmured softly and for a moment I was confused before I looked through the front window to see Michaela and her cute little butt strutting away down the road on her own without her boyfriend and with no other means of a ride.

"Say what?" I was a little overcome with disbelief.

"She's an evil jock concubine, let her hitchhike." Miles shrugged carelessly as Sam hurriedly climbed back into his car, settling in the driver's seat as I hung between him and Miles, pushing my shades back up on my head to see them properly in the dimness of the car interior.

"Yeah exactly, besides she's got other friends who drive right? One of them can give her a lift." I reasoned however Sam shook his head insistently.

"She lives ten miles from here okay? It's my only chance. You got to be understanding here, this might be my one and only chance to actually talk to her and maybe even get a number or something." Sam explained to us both however we both just stared at him blankly before Miles and I looked at one another, silently communicating the unlikeness of such a thing ever actually happening.

"Alright then we'll put her in the back and we'll stay quiet." Miles agreed. Wait, what? Put her in the back with me?

"There is no way I'm sitting in the back with princess barbie doll over there." I protested however it was like Sam didn't even hear me, his ears having stopped working after Miles's suggestion. Boys, they were so oblivious and dense and rather single minded. Sam wasn't even considering the fact that we were _all_ at least ten miles from home.

"Did you just say 'put her in the back'?"

"I called shotgun!" Miles complained then stared as Sam sighed.

"Miles, you gotta get out of my car. I'm not going to put her in the back."

"That's a party foul, man. You have to follow the rules." I watched in amazed bemusement as the argument with continued between Sam and Miles before the both of us were evicted from Sam's car and he quickly switched on the engine, revving a little before sticking his head out the window as he sped away.

"I owe you guys one!" Sam called as the dust billowed up behind us and my face fell a little. Just great. Now I have to think of a way to get both Miles and myself home and there was no way I could walk, I was wearing wedges after all. I should really think about bringing along sensible shoes with me when I go out. Miles and I just stood there on the side of the road in silence for a while until finally I exhaled.

"Well, we better start walking back. Got anybody you can call to come give us a ride?" I asked however Miles just stretched with a yawn, his mouth dropping wide open and I glanced away. Honestly, boys had no manners at all.

"Nah you're good. I'm going to hang here for a while with some of those dudes over there. Good luck though Helen, see you later." And just like that Miles disappeared also. I threw my hands up into the air before starting to stalk forwards, grumbling in irritation under my breath. There was no way I was going to ask around for a lift home or even spend one second longer at this party. It sucked, it was boring and I hate socialising and talking to people. Especially when they were my own age because usually that meant they were morons. Excuse the cynicism but it's my daily bread. I need it just to get through another day.

Pretty soon my ankles started to hurt and even after I'd pulled off my shoes and walked a few miles barefoot, I eventually gave in and begrudgingly called for a taxi, asking him to take me back home because then I'd be able to pay him. It was late and I didn't want to intrude on Ron and Judy at this time at night, so after running inside to get some cash I paid the cab fare then went inside, sending a message to my secondary parents to let them know I'd gone home and not to worry before heading up to my room.

I hate this house. It was too quiet and way too empty. I hate it so much.


	3. Chapter 3

With the weapon in my hand I lifted up the handgun then fired, smiling as it hit the center target. My dad had a pretty impressive collection which I happened to have the key and codes to get to, allowing me to have a little fun by myself whilst he and my mom were out of town. Since he was some kind of government official, he had guns all over the place and had taught me how to shoot from a very young age. It's just about the only daddy daughter bonding experience I had with him. Though seeing as he was so paranoid, at least it meant that I had a gun license, which was the coolest thing ever. I was legitimately allowed to walk around with a handgun in my purse, though he never actually gave me one of my own and I wasn't supposed to be using these at all but hey, what he didn't know couldn't hurt him.

Today I had felt particularly sparkly and colourful, which of course reflected in my appearance. I had all kinds of colours in my hair from pink to purple and red to blue and all the colours in between, my hair frizzed up and piled into twin ponytails. I wore bright pink fishnet tights, a neon yellow tulle skirt, thick black biker boots with studs, a ripped red and black shirt which exposed my navel and all the glittery tattoos I'd stuck or drawn on out of boredom. I was so fixated on shooting off the guns that I almost missed my phone ringing, noticing the light out of the corner of my eye so I took off the mufflers and the goggles, put the gun on safety then picked up. "Sam?"

"Helen! My car is chasing me! You gotta help, I'm…I'm…it's CHASING ME!" Sam screamed from the other end and I had to pull the phone away from my ear to save my own ear drums from bursting as Sam freaked out on the other end.

"Wow, hey, hey, slow down. What's chasing you?"

"My car! My car is chasing me and no one's driving it." I frowned. Okay so maybe Sam had finally bowed to peer pressure, meaning Miles, and actually tried some of those pills that he always carried around with him. This could only be bad.

"What do you mean no one's driving the car Sam, did you take some kind of drug?"

"No I mean no one's driving it as in the car is driving, following me and no one is inside! Got that?" Now I know he was talking crazy. I mean, I know that car is a little strange but there's no way something like that can happen. Maybe he can't see the person driving or maybe there's no car at all and he's just racing around his neighborhood like some weirdo. It wouldn't be the first time after all.

"Yeah…okay then I'll come and find you. Where are you?"

"Currently pedaling for my life on my mother's bike!" He shouted back at me, panting heavily and I could hear the noise of traffic on his end of the phone. I listened carefully to his location and memorised it so that I could catch up quickly.

"Alright I'm coming. You know that construction site near that area? Just head there and stay put until I come and get you. I'll take you home and we can sort this all out." I told him slowly before giving a sigh. "Your mother is going to be so pissed when she finds out you're on drugs."

"I'm not on-!" Cancelling the call I pocketed my phone and zipped up my studded jacket, the large glittery patches shimmering in the light as I tidied up quickly, put the gun back in its place then head to the basement garage where dad kept all his flashy cars and vehicles. Mostly he never used these, they were just to show off to guests if he ever had them over or they were gifts. Since Sam seems to be in a bit of trouble, I'm sure dad won't mind me borrowing one of them. Like I said, what he doesn't know can't hurt him. I chose a sports bike, grabbing a helmet and grabbing the keys from the safe before heading out into the city.

I pushed at the speed limits, going as fast as I dared and cut a few corners in order to reach Sam quickly. He had sounded pretty out of it when he'd called, I just hope he managed to get to that parking lot they were building and I'd be able to make sure he was okay. I swear to god I'm going to kill Miles if I find out that he made Sam take something. Underneath the roar of the engine, I could hardly hear anything however when I killed the speed and edged my way through a plastic sheet to get into the mostly empty parking lot, I suddenly slammed on the brakes and swore as I stared at the giant moving mass a distance away from me. "Holy mother…" It was a robot. A huge freaking robot. What the hell is a robot doing in a place like this?! What even…is this real?!

"Are you 'Ladiesman two-one-seven'?" The giant black robot demanded and I felt my chest constrict in fear as I stared. It spoke. The thing freaking spoke and by the sounds of it, it's pissed. What has Sam gotten himself into now? I can only just about see him laying sprawled outgripping Sam down as he just stared up at it. A metal fist pummeled into the ground, turning the concrete into dust and I jumped in shock, gripping onto my bike a little tighter as I tried to think of what to do. "Where is the eBay item two-one-one-five-three? Where are the glasses?" He demanded and slammed its wheeled fist into the car hood, causing Sam to scream.

I reacted instinctively, gripping onto the throttle and revved the engine all the way whilst remaining in neutral, creating a huge roar of sound which made the robot whirl around to face me. "Sam run!" I don't know how I managed to speak let alone scream as my throat had welded itself shut, staring at the rather hideous face with intense red eyes which I would never forget from that day onward. The robot creature thing snarled at me, practically spitting through the sharp teeth and I knew then that I had to take my own advice and get out of there. Sam was already bolting so I rammed the bike into gear and sped away with a screech of sound.

Very quickly I realised that the robot wasn't coming after me at all but had chased after Sam so I whirled around, making a complete turn and raced back in the hopes of accomplishing something. I don't know what exactly, but for the moment my brain had completely gone dead. All I saw was the fact that the huge alien thing was going after Sam with massive feet which tore up the concrete. This was insane. Totally insane and it had to be a dream, right? "Therapy. I'm going to need therapy after this. Oh my god I'm going to die!" Freaking out on my own I gave a pathetic mewling squeak before flinging myself to the side and hit the ground in an awkward roll whilst the bike fell on its side and flew forwards, knocking out the robot's feet as I felt the breath in my lungs get knocked out of me.

For a moment everything was spinning and I was stunned, too confused to think until I felt the vibrations of something colossal and heavy moving. The robot. Oh crap the robot. Quickly I rolled to the side as it hissed and roared, a fist slamming to the ground where I had been lying just a few moments prior and I scrambled to move, trying to get away and hide or something sensible. "I'll kill you, you filthy human!" It promised me and inside, I was completely freaking out. _I don't want to die I don't want to die what the hell is going on?!_ With my own voice screaming in my head I whirled onto my back, seeing nothing but a rush of hulking black mass looming over me so I covered my face and head protectively, though it wouldn't do me much good.

Suddenly I could hear the distinct sound of Sam's Camaro and I opened my eyes to see it speed in from nowhere whereby it turned a tight circle, drifting around and slamming into the robot's legs to topple it over with an almighty crash as I flung myself onto my front, staring. The door swung open and Sam shouted to me from the driver's seat.

"Get in get in get in!" I wasted no time in arguing and pushed myself upright, ignoring the burning pains in my chest and flung myself forwards, barely even noticing Michaela as I hit the front seat then slammed the door shut after me. "Go drive! Drive, drive, drive!" Sam shouted as I finally released the tense breath I had been holding but when I saw the wheel turn of its own accord, I freaked out again and started to scream.

"What the hell? How are you doing that? This car is freaking _driving_ on its _own_!"

"It's not me, it's the car!" Sam yelled back as I pressed myself as far away from that possessed steering wheel as I could. "Oh my god, oh my god it's still after us!"

"Yeah, you maybe want to tell me about this giant robot damn well trying to crush us into tiny little pieces? And why the hell is your car driving itself?!"

"Okay, you having a panic attack is not helping me hold onto my nerves right now so just calm _down_!" Sam and I screamed at one another, completely losing our minds as Michaela gulped in fear, twisting around in the back seat to watch as the robot transformed into a cop car and started to tail us and by that I mean come after us like the hounds of hell.

"This is so messed up. What is that thing?!" She demanded to know as Sam and I continued yelling wordlessly in terror as we rushed up against a wire fence and crashed through it, both of us hanging onto one another in terror. That's it. I'm going to die in this ghost possessed car.

 _"Hold on soldier, we're almost home free."_ The sound came from the radio and that just set me off on a whole other level.

"Did this thing just talk? As in, talked through the radio? Sam! What the heck is happening here? When you said your own car was chasing you, I just thought you were having a bad trip!" As the phantom car took a sharp turn I yelped, slamming against the side of the car and I coughed, biting through my lip and blood gushed out of my mouth so I spat it out, however the blood just made Sam scream all over again. Okay, now I'm getting pissed at everything. This is so totally not my day and it was not nearly over.

"We're going to die. We're all going to die…" Michaela wailed, sobbing with rather unattractive tears down her face as I gripped onto my seatbelt for support, using it to keep me from going flying out the window as the car continued to race away from the wailing sirens.

"We're not gonna die, we're not gonna die. Trust me, he's a kick ass driver." Sam repeated over and over again before then turning to look out the huge window we were aiming at then screamed. "WE'RE GONNA DIE!"

"Sam! Shut up!" I screeched, all three of us yelling in unison as we crashed through the glass then went hurtling forwards, the car cleverly weaving and doing its best to shake the crazy cop robot car until finally after what felt like simultaneous hours and mere seconds, the car slid down a path in this power plant then went completely silent and still. The doors locked and the engine was cut, trapping us inside.

"No, no, we're locked in." Sam tried to start the engine, the sound guttering momentarily before silencing all at once. "The car won't start, which means we ditched the monster, right?"

"Don't count on it Sam, just be quiet." I whispered urgently with a smack at his hand so that he let go of the keys then pointed forwards. We all looked and watched as the police car drove slowly past up ahead, searching for us. I was barely keeping my breathing in check, just about ready to go into complete shock after everything that had happened today. This does not happen in real life, this kind of stuff only happened in movies and in books, not in _real_ life!

"Okay, I think its gone." Sam murmured quietly as he reached forwards and when he turned the key in the ignition, the engine purred into life without complaint. "Nice and slow." The car suddenly lurched forwards and I would have hit her head against the dashboard had the seatbelt not clicked itself into place on its own and held me back against the seat, causing me to screech and try to fight it off. I am so done with this car!

We sped forwards as the cop car reversed, swerving to avoid its rear end then raced along the final stretch, bare seconds passing before the brakes were slammed on and the wheel jerked around, causing us all to yell. The doors flew open and I was the first to be flung out, Sam and Michaela following and we hit the asphalt before sliding and rolling down the steep decline. My ribs gave a rather pained twinge of complaint, almost causing me to lose my breath again and I felt several holes being torn in my stockings but I hardly even noticed because when I opened my eyes, Sam's car was moving. Not only that, it was shifting and changing its very shape.

I lay in complete spellbound awe and fascination as the car literally rose up and became some kind of human shaped figure made completely from metal, the yellow body reaffirming that it was the very same car that I had just sat inside of. "Wow." It was all I could think to say as it stood up protectively before us, its huge feet moving and shifting in preparation as the cop car came gunning forwards. This could only be bad. Sure enough it transformed in the blink of an eye then leaped onto the newer robot, slamming into him and at the collision, the air around me seemed to tremble with the metallic ring.

"Helen we gotta move!" Sam yelled to me and I snapped awake, quickly turning around however the two robots crashed apart from one another, a massive black leg cutting across my path and I screeched in a rather undignified manner. "Helen!"

"Go!" I yelled as I scrambled backwards, trying to make sense of the mess around me but all I saw were these huge metallic limbs as I tried to get out from the middle of all the fighting even as my pulse pounded and the very air became too metallic to inhale. "Take Michaela and go! Don't worry about me!" Leaping backwards as the yellow robot hit the ground it blinked its robotic eyes then looked directly at me. I didn't even notice Sam turn and grab Michaela's arm to run, all I could see were the bright luminous blue eyes which stared at me before suddenly I felt the earth seemingly shatter underneath my feet twice over, fists pummelling into the ground and I fell to the ground as my knees buckled underneath me from the force.

"Puny insect human." Rolling onto my back I stared openly, freezing completely in place as one of the hands shifted and evolved into some kind of spinning spike thing. A spinning spike thing which came directly down towards me.

"Holy fu-!" Without warning a blast came from behind me, tearing through the cop robot's shoulder and it roared as the heavy fire ripped it backwards, saving me from a rather painful and terrifying death but before I knew what was happening, a large hand had reached out and curled its fingers around me. "Whoa hey, hey!" Initially I panicked, however when I saw the faded yellow paintwork I relaxed a little, though not entirely. The robot quickly drew back with me, the features of its metal face scrunching up as if to shoot the other a robot a look as it shielded me rather protectively, placing me on the ground then ushering me away with a nudge of its hand. "Is that…is that your enemy or something?" I asked however when the more evil looking robot came barrelling back towards us with what looked like huge canons on its arm, I turned and bolted. "You're right, questions can wait until later!"

I fled the scene, running as fast as I could and did not stop until I was hidden behind a warehouse building. Even though I had run, the fight was still being pushed my way as Sam's yellow robot lost his ground even though it seemed to be fighting pretty hard. This is crazy. What am I supposed to do? Cops, right I should call the cops! Desperately I grabbed my phone, fumbling with it as I dragged it out of my pocket however when I saw the cracked screen, I heart melted in fearful disappointment as it remained totally blank as I urgently hammered my finger against the home screen button but it was totally dead. "Well that's just great. My phone is broken and I have two massive robots about to tear up a power plant." Looking up, my heart leaped into my throat.

Somehow the cop robot had managed to keep hold of the other one, the one that had rescued us, and slammed it into the ground then started to punch it in the face with devastating force. Oh god, what do I do what do I do? Do I try and help? No that's crazy, that's absolutely crazy what can I do in a giant robot death match except get myself killed? I made to run away further, however when I heard the cries of pain like mechanical whirs from the yellow automaton thing, I felt my heat suddenly tense up before going all defensive. "God damn it and my underdog complex." I cursed, gripping at my hair as I searched around desperate before my gaze landed on a scrap metal pile.

Without thinking I ran for it, my boots hitting the ground hard as I stooped down and grabbed a metal crowbar, the rusted thing possibly the only thing I could see as a potential weapon so I went with it. Okay, what now? I could still hear those desperate cries as the yellow robot fought back so with a deep breath, I ran forwards then slid to a halt. "HEY!" I bellowed at the top of my lungs. "Look here!" The black opponent paused and lifted its head, one of its canons aimed for its rival or enemy or whatever the two of them were. With a clear line of sight lined up, I flung the crowbar with all my might, letting it soar forwards with rather impressive accuracy and speed.

The end landed deep into the robot's eye, making it wrench itself backwards with a howl of pain and rage. Crap, now would be a great time to run. I turned on my heel intending to flee, however when I heard a boom of sound I barely came to grips with reality before the ground was suddenly disappearing from underneath me and I was soaring, releasing a scream of fear as my arms flailed before I struck one of the buildings with painful force and I hit the ground in a slump. I was alive at least, the blast having missed but this was going to give me nightmares for years to come. I could feel every bone in my body down to the last little foot bone, as if I could feel that each one of them was broken and there was a distinct ringing in my head which made it difficult for me to focus as I slowly lifted my head, the blurry images somewhat making sense. The black mass was the bad robot and the yellow one was the robot on our side. See? Nice and simple.

As my vision came back into focus I caught the end of this monstrously impressive battle, watching as the yellow bot literally threw the other into a load of cable wires and got pumped with a few thousand volts of electricity after having been beaten to a pile of scrap. "Jesus…" Whispering softly I tried to get up but my body couldn't quite manage it considering all the times I'd been knocked around today. I feel like my entire torso had been bent into reverse then snapped back into shape again. Though when that yellow robot came clomping its huge feet towards me I pushed off the ground and scuttled backwards, breathing sharply until it crouched down and actually started to make calming motions with its hands, voices and words coming out of its mouth piece but I couldn't quite make sense of it since the ringing in my ears was still intense. "Where's Sam and Michaela?" I must have slurred, however as I gripped my head the robot made some kind of response then held out a hand towards me.

I didn't know what to do. Here I was facing a giant robot with no clue as to where Sam and Michaela were and very little options in front of me. I looked warily at the metal hand, watching as various plates and parts shifted constantly within him. "You want me to go with you?" The giant robot nodded its head, the doors on its back shifting almost like little wings. "This is crazy. Totally insane. Who…what are you?"

In response another wave of radio stations and audio clips came back at me and I frowned, listening carefully until I caught on. The E.T reference kind of gave it away with the whole 'E.T phone home' thing. "You're an alien?" Another firm nod. "And you want me to come with you." Again, a confident nod. "I must really be losing my mind." I don't know what part of me made up the decision or even if it was just my body deciding on its own, however I found myself reaching out towards the creature before me, a hand stretched out until I touched the rather electrifying finger of its hand. I don't know what I expected, but I was glad to say that I didn't blow up or anything like that.

As my skin came into contact with the alien hand I found myself relaxing until all at once, the events of the day and the fact that I had blood bleeding down my head all contributed to the fact that I then fainted. I wasn't clear exactly on what happened after that, but Sam told me that when the robot had gone to get him and Michaela, it had been holding me in its arms as carefully as if I were a porcelain doll or an infant child. It carried me and then when it transformed, I popped up in the backseat stretched out and the heaters had flicked on to keep me warm as I remained unconscious, glitter and bright neon makeup smeared all across my face.


	4. Chapter 4

When the car screeched to a sudden halt I was jarred awake, sucking in an alarmed breath and barely realising that the door was flying open and both Michaela and Sam stumbled out. "Oh that's just great, fantastic! Now you've pissed him off!" Sam was shouting as the car drove away with me still inside it. Quickly I grasped onto something, fumbling to catch hold of the seats and drag myself upright.

"What are you doing? Why are you…?" I asked a little weakly, sinking back into the seat after failing to haul myself into the front and try to break free.

 _"You should…sleep a little more …."_ Each part was said in a different voice as the radio flickered between satellites and stations, I think some parts were even from movies. Could he do that? If it was a he, that is. Did this thing even have a gender at all?

"But you're kidnapping me." I argued, frowning as we drove back down the underpass before the car then made another sharp turn, coming back around and I was puzzled as to what it was doing.

 _"I know that."_

"Oh…okay then. Um, so what are you doing?" I questioned however before it answered, the sound of high pitched static filled my ears and suddenly the interior of the car changed, becoming fresh and rather luxurious as the spluttering engine transformed into an effortless purr which made my eyes widen in shock. "Okay, what just happened?" Completely confused and disorientated I wriggled around in the back as the car rolled to a halt before Sam and Michaela. So…it changed form? The door opened and for the other two and they both climbed inside, Sam holding the door for Michaela before rushing around to the driver's seat with a look of wonder in his eyes. "Hey Sam, I think you just got a free upgrade on your two and half grand car." I whispered to him quietly as the engines roared and we sped forwards once more.

"I know, isn't this awesome? Best car ever." He praised as he lovingly touched the wheel softly as if afraid to damage it but still appreciating its beauty. "Wow…" He breathed in awe and even Michaela looked impressed. This dream, or rather nightmare, seemed to never end. One out of this world thing just happened one after the other and it did not show any signs of letting up any time soon. What was coming next? I was almost too afraid to even contemplate it. Feeling a little better after a nap I touched the back of my head to find a dry crust of blood but otherwise no significant damage so I passed it off, massaging my bruised ribs as I watched the streets flicker past before we pulled into a wide alleyway at a rather secluded location. For all we knew we were being brought here to be dissected. Was it too late to run?

"Hey, do you guys have any idea what we're doing here?" I asked in a quiet whisper as if hoping that the alien car wouldn't hear me.

"I don't know, maybe it wants to show us something." Sam suggested, turning his head back at an awkward angle to look towards me as Michaela bit her lip.

"Or maybe we're here to get answers. Check it out, there are more of them coming." She said and with a nod of her head we peered out the front window to see the bright lights of other cars heading our way. "Sam, if we end up in an alien lab being pulled apart, I am so going to kill you."

"I second that." I agreed and Michaela actually gave me a quick and rather timid smile my way before she opened the car then pulled the seat forwards for me so that I could climb out too though I couldn't help but linger back a little, uncertain of what to do as different vehicles of all types and sizes came towards us, their engines roaring before they rolled to a stop so I leaned down through the open window and looked towards the wheel. "Hey uh…can you tell me what's going on?"

 _"Don't worry…brothers in arms…ain't nobody gonna hurt you._ " The car explained to me in jumbled voices and undertones of static as his radio flashed momentarily. Giving a sigh I hung my head, flexing my arms before shaking myself off to try and control my nerves as the several newcomers started to shift all around us.

"Okay, okay, everything is fine. I'm just surrounded by five totally alien robots who can turn into everyday vehicles. What's there to worry about?" It took all of my self control not to start going into hyperventilation again, breathing in and out as deeply as I could until the yellow robot next to me knelt down with a concerned whir of sound, causing me to practically jump out of my skin with a yelp and the sudden sound made him jolt, flinging up his hands in shock and fell onto his butt and sprawled in a rather undignified way. "Oh my god! Don't sneak up on people like that!" I cried out without thinking before then clamping my mouth shut and slowly turning my head towards the other alien robots, some of whom were now looking at me. "Uh…I mean…sorry?" Just kill me now. Seriously, the ground can just open up and swallow me whole I wouldn't mind at all.

Thankfully the largest of them all, the one who had previously been a blue truck with red flames, didn't seem to notice my little outburst or the yellow one now getting back onto its feet and dusting itself off. These things, they had rather strange habits and little quirks that I were noticing. Human habits. It were as if they were just huge versions of us made from metal with increased academic intelligence and no culture experience. This was a recipe for disaster, I could just feel it. "Are you Samuel James Witwickey, descendent of Archibald Witwickey?" Sam gulped as Michaela whispered, all three of us staring at the big truck robot as I inched closer and tremblingly gripped onto Sam's spare hand and his fingers instantly wrapped around mine. I was glad to find that he was shaking too.

"They know your name."

"Yeah?" Sam answered and the truck's shoulders relaxed a little at the response. Compared to that other guy, this one was actually being polite and asking nicely. Does that mean it's safe to say that these are the good guys? After all, that yellow bot over there did kind of save our lives.

"My name is Optimus Prime. We are autonomous robotic organisms from the planet Cybertron." Okay, if I got all this down into a comic or something, I'm pretty sure I would make big bucks because this was all way too unreal. This truck guy, Optimus, he was talking so calmly and dare I say it, warmly, that I couldn't help but relax in his presence a little. At least enough so that I wasn't cutting off the blood circulation to Sam's hand.

"But you can call us autobots for short." The search and rescue unit told us, eyeing all three of us carefully.

"Autobots." Sam repeated, looking around at them all as the smallest walked forwards. Correction. It strutted. _Strutted_. It walked with a proud swagger as it talked, looking around at its surrounding as it gave a casual greeting.

"What's cracking little bitches?" It threw itself onto its head and started to spin around like a spinning top, my eyes going wide and I dropped Sam's hand without realising it. This was an alien? It sounded and acted like an everyday New Yorker!

"My first lieutenant." Optimus informed us as the Porsche spun continuously enough so to make me feel a little ill. "Designation Jazz."

"This looks a cool place to kick it." Jazz responded then jumped onto the air with a cool twist and flip to land on an old car, kicking up his feet and placing his hands behind his head to relax as it crushed the bonnet. I so hope that car was junk like the others here and didn't actually belong to someone, otherwise they are going to be having a bad day tomorrow.

"How did he learn to talk like that?" Sam asked, pointing towards Jazz as he and Michaela also stared in dumbfounded disbelief.

"We've learned Earth's languages through the world wide web." Optimus answered simply, earning a slight chuckle from me in response.

"I wish it were so easy for all of us." I mused quietly and the truck, Optimus, gave a small nod of acknowledgement to me and even what appeared to be a smile of the metallic lips that were formed on his face before he then gestured to the robot which had previously been that black pickup truck.

"My weapons specialist, Ironhide." Optimus continued to introduce, whereby we were suddenly met with huge canons being shoved into our faces and I yelled, throwing up my hands and yelling along with Sam as it spoke.

"You feeling lucky, punk?" No, no I most definitely do _not_ feel lucky! In fact, out of all my unluckiest of days, I'm ranking this one as perhaps one of the worst considering everything's that happening!

"Easy Ironhide." Optimus soothed diplomatically and I was relieved when the canons were withdrawn, the autobot giving what sounded like a causal laugh as it bashfully lifted up its weapons.

"Just kidding. I only wanted to show them my canons." He informed us and I slumped in relief, hunching over and gripping my knees. Any more surprises or shocks today very may well make my heart give out and I do not particularly want that happening, because you know, it would be a huge inconvenience to die at such a young age. Optimus continued to introduce us to his team of alien companions, introducing us to the one called Ratchet who turned out to be their medical officer. The autobot sniffed then mused aloud without any conception of social boundaries.

"Hmm…the boy's pheromone levels suggests he wants to mate with the dark haired female." Without meaning to I spluttered with a laugh which I hastily tried to cover up by coughing, awkwardly turning my back as Sam shot me a dark glower as he blushed, Michaela scratching her head uncomfortably. Wow, this was awkward. There was a moment or so of silence as Optimus sighed with a despairing shake of his head before then lifting his hand towards the yellow autobot so I lifted my head and paid attention.

"You already know your guardian, Bumblebee." So that was what its name was. Bumblebee. Actually, it kind of suited him and it was rather cute. Were these names ones they came up with after reaching Earth and picked out from among the English language or did they have bees in their world too? So many questions. I smiled as Bumblebee broke into some pretty sweet dance moves to his own radio system, Sam talking to him in awe. Must be pretty cool having your very own robot guardian, I doubt those jocks would ever consider ever picking on Sam again if he knew. Though all things considering, there were a mountain of questions in my head so I stuck up my hand.

"So um, you're not here to take over the planet or anything are you? Because that would really suck for all us humans." I said rather bluntly, earning a discouraging look from both Sam and Michaela but I ignored them as the one called Optimus Prime turned his head towards me, considering my question a moment before he answered.

"We are searching for the All Spark, otherwise known as the Cube. We must find it before Megatron." That did not exactly answer my question or make things in any way clearer. If anything it just made more questions than answers.

"Mega-what?" Sam asked in confusion so in response, Optimus touched his temple with a finger and two beams of light burst from his eyes. Suddenly we were surrounded by an image of the ground falling away into fire and everything around us changed, revealing a completely different world to anything we had ever known. The ground crumbled beneath us to form high ledges of rocks and towers above volcanic lava, hot and bright below as tall spires shot from the ground, forming formidable towers of metal. "Our planet was once a powerful empire. Peaceful and just. Until we were betrayed by Megatron, leader of the Decepticons. All who defied them were destroyed. Our war finally consumed the planet, and the All Spark was lost to the stars."

"I'm so sorry, that must have been hard." I murmured without thinking, a wave of sympathy going out to these creatures. Though this all could be some elaborate ploy to get us to drop our guard, but there had to be more to the story. After all, why would any alien go after three totally normal teenagers to take over a planet? It made no sense at all.

"Megatron followed it to Earth where a man called Captain Witwicky found him." Optimus continued to explain and my head jerked up to look at Sam who exhaled in disbelief. "It was an accident that intertwined our fates." Optimus explained to us how Sam's grandfather had found Megatron, buried deep below the ice on one of his artic explorations, completely blowing my mind. This would definitely make for a great comic book someday. "Megatron crash landed before he could retrieve the Cube. Your grandfather accidentally activated his navigation systems. The coordinates to the Cube's location was imprinted on his glasses."

"Wait…how do you know about the glasses?" Sam frowned warily however I reached out and tugged on his shirt, muttering under my breath as I quickly put all the facts I knew together.

"They must have seen them on eBay, Sam, you've been trying to sell that stuff for ages. If they explored the internet to learn about language and culture then it makes sense they could have easily found what they were looking for." I reminded him quietly and he made a humming sound of agreement.

"Oh yeah." Glancing between us Optimus knelt down towards us though seemed to make an effort to not overcrowd or intimidate us, lowering his head as much as possible so that we could look him directly in the eye without craning our necks uncomfortably.

"If the Decepticons find the All Spark, they will use it to transform Earth's machines to create a new army." Ratchet informed us with a surprising amount of calm and bluntness. Oh so some of these guys really was coming to end the world. Perfect, just let me know when doomsday is here.

"And the entire human race would be extinguished." Optimus turned to face Sam directly, addressing him with a severe tone. "Sam Witwicky, you are the key to the human race's survival." The idea itself was ridiculous. The reality of the situation made me go deadly pale.

"Sam, if you don't have those glasses, I'll kill you."


	5. Chapter 5

When we reached Sam's house, I had hitched a ride with the autobot called Jazz in order to give Sam and Michaela some privacy at his silent plea he'd sent me before we'd all moved out. Actually Jazz and I got talking and I found he was a pretty cool alien robot though his taste in music was a little too much hip hop and rap for me. "So what's with all the crazy colours you sporting around?"

"Colour is good and I like plenty of it." I answered him simply as I tugged at a few of the holes in my fishnets absently. "It's what makes me unique. Different. I stand out from all the other kids I know because they're all too busy trying to follow the latest trends whilst I'm here enjoying all the crazy colours, as you call them."

"That's cool that's cool, I like your style. It's got some sweet attitude to it." Jazz informed me in his rather deep toned voice with that kind of typical gangster drawl that you hear actors put on in movies. I think it suited him perfectly, I could almost picture him in my mind as a human. I'd tried to do the same with the others on the drive back but I couldn't quite manage it, I didn't know enough about them just yet. "Heads up, we're here.

"Awesome. Keep quiet okay? Folks around here are rather tetchy about a bunch of strange cars suddenly showing up in the middle of the night and you don't want the cops to come this way and see you." I warned him, giving a smile and gently patting the dashboard. "Thanks for the ride Jazz."

"Anytime my little cherry." Without meaning to I giggled, giving a roll of my eyes as I pushed open the door and slid out as Sam assured Optimus that he would get the glasses and that everybody should just wait out of sight.

"Hey, hey Helen, you have to keep them away from everybody else okay? I'll go in, grab the glasses then come right back so just make sure they don't go anywhere." Sam said to me, gripping my arms rather urgently.

"Sam it'll be fine, just get moving already." I told him, my lips tilting in a smirk as I used a sleeve to wipe at his sweaty brow. "God you're perspiring like a hippo on a hot day, I can tell you're nervous so just breathe, take deep breaths and remember to focus." I told him before grabbing his shoulders and spinning him around. "Give your mom my love, hop to it!" With a kick to his backside Sam dashed for his house as I leaned back against Jazz. "And pray to god he didn't leave the glasses at school."

"Wait what?" Michaela questioned me, freezing in place.

"Sometimes he leaves his bag behind at school if he has the same classes so he doesn't have to bother with the bag. Usually he leaves it in his locker." I explained to her and I saw the despair in her eyes as she slowly gripped her head. Suddenly the car side bulked out, pushing me forwards as Jazz started to shift in place along with all the others. "Whoa now! Hey! Hey guys, this is not the time or place to be making grand entrances! Hey!" Hissing and partially yelling as loudly as I dared I tried to fight with Jazz's hood to try and push it back down. "Jazz stop it! You can't go around transforming wherever you like!"

"Tough crack little cherry, boss's orders." Jazz said as he rather artistically unfolded himself from being a car, settling in a crouch before me then winked. "You just sit tight whilst we lend the kid a hand."

"No, no, no, no this is not…this is not-Optimus! I don't know if you know this but you are a _giant_ freaking alien _robot_ that people don't often see everyday and they will _panic_ if they see you! Bumblebee! No, stay, stay…god damn it!" They all just walked past me even as I tried to grab onto their feet and legs but their superior strength made me feel as inferior as a fly as they just walked past me, Michaela looking as worried as I felt.

"Sam is going to be so pissed about this." She said to me and I almost smacked my head against a wall just to put myself out my misery. "I'm going to go see if I can help. Where do I…?"

"Oh, just through here." I directed her, holding open the gate and she gave me a warm smile.

"Thanks Helen." I nodded with a rather wary smile in return, letting Michaela go through first before following, looking back to make sure that no one had seen us or was around before hurrying into Sam's backyard. I had to stop and stare at the mess that these giant metal hulks had made. They had destroyed Ron's path as well as the pretty fountain which he had only recently installed. Forget Sam, Ron is going to be _furious_ when he sees this with no obvious explanation as to how it happens. We'll probably just have to say it was vandalism and get the entire neighborhood watch on the case. Oh god, the flowers, not Judy's flowers! She's going to kill us all, including the aliens. Sam was freaking out completely, Optimus talking to him through his window as I stumbled forwards.

"Bumblebee!" I whispered loudly, catching his attention as I tripped over a broken section of Ron's path and hit the grass. I hope the imprint on the grass does not obvious look like me otherwise I would never be welcomed back into this house again. "Bumblebee, you guys have to get out of here right now! This is a _garden_ , not a gas station!" Bumblebee made some weird noises with his radio before kneeling down towards me, lifting up his hand and curling it around me. "What are you doing? Hey, don't just pick me up, hey!" But it was too late. Bumblebee lifted me off the ground and I instinctively clung onto him in order to keep myself from falling as he tossed me up and down a few times and it took everything I had not to scream out loud.

 _"You need to cool down…all this stress is bad for the digestion!"_

"I'm not too worried about my digestive system right now, I'm more worried about the fact there are five aliens standing around in a backyard!" I hissed back, sprawling and flailing in his hand until he finally stopped playing around and opened up his palm, allowing me and my poufy tulle skirt to finally turn over and actually find a comfortable space where I didn't feel like I was going to fall suddenly which also meant I was clinging constantly and desperately to Bumblebee's finger but he didn't seem to mind. "Would you _please_ just listen to the human experts around here and just do as we say?"

 _"It ain't up to me…don't you worry don't you worry child…"_ Feeling like I was losing the battle I clapped a hand to my face in frustration.

"Please hurry up and find those glasses Sam." I begged quietly, staying put in Bumblebee's hand as he rather carefully and considerately held onto me, letting me hang out in his palms as we both watched Sam ransack his room searching for those glasses with Michaela however when Ratchet stumbled into the telephone wires and crashed to the ground with a thunder of sparks and vibrations I yelled fearfully and clung onto Bumblebee a little tighter. He gave me a series of clicks and whirrs of sound to comfort me, barring an arm to shield my smaller frame from any of the sparks whilst the quaking settled. When I opened my eyes, all was quiet, everybody frozen in fear. "Well. At least we don't have to explain about the yard anymore." I reasoned honestly, making Bumblebee snigger a little at my comment.

He was about to put me up into the window to help search for the glasses when I heard Ron and Judy yelling at Sam to open his door. "It's the parents! Get me down get me down!" I panicked, dangling helplessly from the window with my skinny arms barely able to hang on but thankfully Bumblebee quickly grasped my waist again and drew me back, tucking me against his chest as he pulled back away from the windows and crouched down under the porch to hide as Optimus had ordered, however when he plastered himself to the house he caused another earthquake like effect. These guys really needed to learn coordination and appreciate the fact that they were all humongous.

From above I heard Ron call out in despair, lamenting the loss of his garden and I flinched guiltily but I remained absolutely silent. Everybody froze in place, not moving a muscle as Ron complained about his garden before pulling away from the window and took his distinctive voice with him where I couldn't hear the rest. "The parents are very irritating, can I take them out?" Ironhide questioned whilst charging up his canons and instantly I flailed, struggling against Bumblebee's grip to try and diffuse whatever loose wire that particular autobot seemed to have in his head however thankfully Optimus stepped in.

"Ironhide, you know we don't harm the humans, what is with you?!"

"Well I'm just saying we could. It's an option."

"Okay." I spoke, turning my head so that Bumblebee looked me directly in the face. "You guys are all totally insane." Bumblebee gave an agreeing roll of his eyes as he crawled out from under the porch with me still securely held in his hand, keeping low to the ground in preparation to swiftly hide again should either Ron or Judy reappear. They seemed to be having some kind of argument up there and it was all I could do to keep Optimus and the others from simply interrupting them and demanding the glasses at gunpoint. "Let's just back it up, that's it, nice and slow and by that I mean as fast as you can." I encouraged them, starting to herd them like sheep back out of the yard however when we heard numerous cars pull up outside the house I stopped and turned, frowning in confusion. "What the…?"

"Jazz, take the girl and get out of sight. Lay low." Optimus ordered calmly but with urgency and before I could even question anyone Jazz had grabbed me by the waist and away from Bumblebee who hastened to hand me over despite my hesitant and confused protests.

"Let's go little cherry, hang on tight now!" He crowed and I could almost feel him grinning as he transformed around me until he was once more a car and I was strapped in at the front seat.

"Alright, as cool and freaky as that was, what is going on? Is something happening?"

"Nothing cherry, just some weird looking dudes in black tops and suits crawling around your little friend's house. Boss told me to look out for you so that's what I'm gonna do." Jazz said to me as he eased out onto the street then backed up onto an empty driveway to blend in with his surroundings, all the other autobots disappearing from sight.

"Wait what, you mean that some government guys or something have come to Sam's house?" I demanded but Jazz didn't answer me, going completely radio silent so I tried to unbuckle myself but the strap wouldn't budge, remaining firmly in place and effectively trapping me inside. "Come on Jazz, let me out! I have to get to Sam, maybe I can talk things out and smooth things over, just let me go!" Still no answer so in a burst of frustration I lashed out with my foot. "God damn it!" I dragged my hands through my hair then angrily pulled it free, tugging until the pompom hair ties were loose and I tossed them aside so that I could drag my fingers through my hair to try and calm myself. Now with something to do I pulled out all the coloured extensions one by one whilst sinking low into my seat, pouting with worry until finally Jazz's engine switched back on. "Jazz?"

"Been given the go by the boss, we're moving out." He informed me as he slowly slid out from the driveway. "Those agents have all cleared off so we're going after them, they took your little friends and the boss needs those specs." I gave a stained sigh, shifting in my seat.

"Okay then, let's stop at the house first. He might have left them behind so I'll do a quick sweep. Can you put me through the top window?"

"Sure can, hold on cherry." Jazz answered confidently before heading back to the house, crossing over the streets and sliding into the back alley whereby he transformed then lifted me up effortlessly, holding me with just one hand whilst he jumped up and gripped onto the roof and gently allowed me to slide from his hand through Sam's bedroom window. Quickly I scoured for the backpack, racing through his room but found nothing so I grabbed a spare bag and filled it with a few clothes for myself to change into, quickly discarding the tutu skirt, tights and top to exchange them for simple jeans and a plain black tank top, pulling on one of my less outgoing jackets of simply denim with wool lining in the hood.

"I'm going to check downstairs okay? I'll come out through the back." I informed Jazz after leaning out the window. With my clothes now changed I grabbed some wet wipes from the bathroom as I passed and cleaned off the dirt and makeup from my face, tossing them aside as they became stained with bright neon colours and glitter until finally I was more or less clean. I felt practically naked without my makeup on but at a time like this, practically trumps fashion. I looked through the entire house as quickly as I could however I found the backpack and the glasses case left behind without the glasses, meaning that Sam had to have them. "Damn it." Hissing through my teeth I rushed out to Jazz who swept me up effortlessly and deposited me on his shoulder. "No glasses but the case and the backpack were left behind, which means Sam has to have them."

"Gotcha. We'll follow after the boss and the team. Don't worry, we'll get your boyfriend back."

"He is _not_ my boyfriend." I corrected naturally as Jazz gave a bark of laughter then transformed, opening his car door and allowing me to slide inside. My nerves still had not calmed down this entire night and it showed through the way I was tightly grabbing onto the wheel. My knuckles were so white that if I gripped any tighter then the bones of my fingers would pop out altogether.

"Hey cherry, calm down girl. The boss will get the boy and that other girl back, don't you worry about a thing." Jazz tried to reassure me so I forced myself to let go of the breath I was holding and relaxed my grip on the steering wheel.

"Ever since we were kids he was always getting into trouble. I thought it was just bad karma or something but now this? That guy is a magnet for all kinds of bad and negative things. A magnet that's been supersized completely and now everything is totally messed up." I let off all at once before shaking out the nerves. "I'm okay, everything will be fine. Just take it one step at a time."

"Atta girl." Jazz agreed so I closed my eyes and leaned back a little, trying not to visualise Sam getting tortured by some psycho secret government agents though let me tell you, the images seemed pretty realistic to me.


	6. Chapter 6

"No lying, who's the best looking one of us?" Jazz asked me whilst we were driving, probably desperate to fill the tense silence that had fallen between us. "I'll be offended if you don't say me." Admittedly his carefree and upbeat attitude made me laugh and I didn't feel so down in his company so I smiled a little.

"Who can compete with a Porsche? Although I do tend to like the larger sports cars, like the Camaro or the Lamborghini. Cars are just so pretty." I responded, trying to be honest and also not insult his feelings. Considering the fact that he is literally a robot car who can transform and squish me like an insect, I figure it's a bad idea to upset the guy. My hand was jumping naturally on its own, kind of like a nervous twitch so I gripped onto it tightly and gave a long sigh, constantly looking out the window to see which direction we were heading and trying to maintain my bearings but it was a little difficult since I was so distracted.

"They're on the move to a different location." Jazz informed after a while, speeding up and definitely breaking the speed limit. It's a good things these guys don't have license plates or the fines would be astronomical. No pun intended. "You'd better sleep, Ratchet tells me you should've wound down from the adrenaline and shock of everything that happened today, and to be honest you don't look too good."

"It's not that, it's probably just because I'm not wearing bright neon makeup anymore, I tend to look a little more pale when I'm not so dolled up." I murmured simply, leaning back in my seat and gazing out the window into the black night. "Have they found Sam and Michaela yet?" Jazz didn't answer for a moment so that immediately woke me back up again, making me focus my attention once more. "Jazz?"

"I got their location, we're coming up on them now." Jazz informed me and quickly served, making me yelp and quickly grab onto the wheel for support as we took the corner then head towards a bridge where the traffic seemed to have been cut off. The entire bridge was clear and when Jazz pulled up it took me less than a second to have my belt off and the door flung wide open, scrambling out and rushing to the edge where my hands gripped the railing with a rush of blasting cold air. I gasped involuntarily as I came upon a distressing scene, my entire body freezing in place as I stared.

Bumblebee lay sprawled on the ground helpless with federal agents crawling over him, spraying him with some kind of deep white mist which began to freeze him in place, wailing voicelessly as Sam yelled. My hands climbed up to my face and hid my gaping mouth, unable to look away as both Sam and Michaela were taken away by force, lights blazing strongly all the way ahead and focusing on Bumblebee. I wanted to call out, to shout at them and make them stop but no noise came, nothing at all. In fact I was so stunned that it didn't even register until after they were leaving that they were taking my best friend away. "No, no Sam. Sam! Sam! SAM!" My voice rose to a scream and I tried to bolt forwards, wanting to reach out and snatch back my friends from those who were trying to take them away from me.

I was crying. There were hot trails riding down my face as I struggled against something large and metallic as it gripped me around the waist and lifted me off the ground, effortlessly restraining me and keeping me from trying to go after them. After that, things were a bit of a blur. I watched as the last taillights faded out from view and Bumblebee was airlifted away like cargo, like he was nothing more than some new form of property that the government were now claiming as their own. For some reason, that distressed me more than anything else. I was terrified for him, as if I knew that whatever they were going to do to Sam and Michaela, it was going to be much worse for Bumblebee, and it scared me.

"We have to save them. Bumblebee, you have to go get him back. You don't understand, you don't understand, they'll torture him! They'll tear him apart and splice him! Don't you hear me? Is anyone listening?! You have to go save them!" It was Ratchet who was keeping me from doing anything drastic, standing upright with me still in his hand but Optimus did not even glance my way as he dropped down from where he was hiding. "Hey, hey! Listen to me!"

"Cherry's right boss, are we gonna stand here and just do nothing?" Jazz questioned as he and Optimus swung on the underside of the old bridge, barely in sight as Ratchet and Ironhide remained topside.

"There is no way to harm Bumblebee without harming the humans."

"Screw the humans!" I yelled back as I desperately tried to fight to get out of Ratchet's hand. "That's my best friend and my best friend's crush they're taking away as well as one of your own! Trust me, harming a few humans is fine, especially when they are grade one assholes like that, you _have_ to do something, please!" Honestly, I was surprised at how easily Optimus was letting my own kind take Bumblebee away, but then again, I could also kind of here how morose he sounded in his voice. Even as he ordered Jazz to stand down and let the feds leave, it sounded as if it crushed him to do it. After that, I felt totally wiped out. I was so exhausted from the day's events that I crashed in Ratchet's hand, slumping forwards and shivering whilst trying to combat the tears. "Let me down. Put me down, put me down put me down _now_!"

When I started to bang my fist against Ratchet's hand he had no choice but to let me go, worried for my own safety and that of my hand. "Be careful! Such excessive outbursts of physical anger will cause damage to yourself, especially if you are using me as a target." He told me as I started to pace back and force, gripping my fingers into my hair as I tried to figure out something to do. "You could have broken your hand."

"I don't care. What I care about right now is the fact that Sam is being carted away, probably to some high level, maximum security facility where I will _never see him again_. Do you think that this is the time to be calm and rational?!" Raising my voice to shout at no one in particular I flung out my hands, striding back and forwards. "You guys just come down from space in secret, don't announce yourself peacefully in any sort of way and bring trouble to my best friend, who just so happened to be in possession of some stupid old glasses? You know, if you guys are so techy with the internet, why didn't you just place a winning bid on them and _buy_ them without all this trouble? Or, simply just take them when he wasn't home. Or coordinate with the government or _something_?!" By this time Optimus had emerged from the underside of the bridge and his head came perfectly level with me when he stood up straight, meaning I could look him directly in the eye. The intense blue locked onto mine which were now gleaming silver, stained by the tears that I was still trying to fight back.

"We are sorry for your loss, Helen Clarkson, and perhaps you are right, there were better ways we could have dealt with this situation, but time is of the essence and right now, we have little left." He said to me before turning to face me fully, coming closer to the bridge and leaning towards me. "You have been very brave, however now it is time that we depart. We must search for the All Spark and retrieve it before the Decepticons are able to obtain it, otherwise it would mean the end of your world and an end to human life on earth." He sounded so forlorn and severe that I could not help but check my temper, breathing heavily as he lifted up his hand and showed me the glasses. "It is fortunate that these were laying upon the ground, now we must locate the All Spark and stop Megatron."

"So what you're saying is…if this Megatron guy comes and finds this…this…All Spark, or whatever, basically the whole world is screwed, right?" I questioned him and his metallic facial features seemed to frown at me at my phrasing, however thankfully the others seemed to follow along.

"That about sums it up, I suppose." Ironhide nodded his head as he crouched down onto one knee. "The Decepticons will lay waste to all of your armies and destroy every home, town and city until there is nowhere left for any of you to survive. It will be an extermination, not a war." Okay, now that sound deathly terrifying and Ironhide's gravelly voice did not help at all.

"However, if we can retrieve the All Spark and take it away from earth's Solar System, the Decepticons would be forced to follow us instead and leave your planet alone." Ratchet agreed with a nod of his head as Jazz swung up and landed close to me, crouching down and reaching out with his considerably smaller hands to give me a hearty slap on the back which sent me crashing forwards into the bridge's side.

"Don't worry 'lil cherry, we won't nothing like that happen. So you should go along home and leave the rest to us. Those boys don't know that you're involved with us, so you should be okay, right boss?" Optimus looked to his second before then turning his attention back to me, looking deeply into my eyes before giving a single nod.

"Agreed. It is safer for you if you were to go home now. This is farewell, Helen Clarkson." He informed me and made to turn away however without thinking, I lunged forwards and leaped off the side of the bridge, causing the other three to cry out in alarm and surprise, trying to catch me but I descended quickly and thanked god that I had judged the distance right as I landed on Optimus's shoulder panel and quickly grabbed on. The force of hitting his strong and solid body was rather formidable however I hitched up my leg and climbed further up as his head turned sharply to look at me.

"Listen, the fate of my world, my home, rests on you guys right?" I questioned but did not give any of them time to argue as I allowed my face to slip into an expression of focus and determination. "In that case, then I think I should stay with you as a kind of earth representative, call a few shots when it comes to human relations and stuff like that. Also, I want to do everything I can to make sure that you guys succeed, otherwise I'll be dead meat. So with that in mind, I'm not going anywhere. You're stuck with me Big Red, so how about you give me those glasses for me to keep them safe before you accidentally crush them?" I offered, holding out my hand with the glasses case in the other, sliding down to sit comfortably on his shoulder as he blinked at me, silence stretching out before finally he smiled.

"Helen Clarkson, you are certainly the bravest human I have ever met. Rest assured, we will do everything in our power to ensure that your home does not fall into the hands of the Decepticons. You have my solemn oath." As Optimus allowed the glasses to drop safely into my hand I placed them securely back into their case and snapped it shut, tucking it away in my pocket as he then held open his palm for me to slide onto.

"Well, I'll take your word on that. Plus, after we're done saving the world and all, we can go bust Sam, Michaela and Bumblebee out of prison or whatever facility they've been taken to. Sound good?"

"Indeed." Optimus agreed, giving me a gentle smile before he ordered for the Autobots to roll out, placing me back up onto the bridge where Jazz held open his door for me to jump into and we all quickly sped off from that place. My nerves were jittering but I forced myself to breathe calmly. I mean, there's only an evil group of monster alien robots out there wanting to destroy the world with some kind of catastrophic weapon of mass destruction, but I felt a little reassured knowing that we had some game players in our own corner. It was enough of a comfort to allow me to close my eyes and fall asleep, my hand constantly wrapped around the glasses case just to reassure myself that it was still there.


	7. Chapter 7

I had somehow managed to sleep through the night and into the morning whereby the Autobots were on the road and speeding quite quickly as if they were dead set on breaking every speed limit from here to Canada. "Hm." Waking up slowly I rubbed my face, blearily remembering handing the glasses over to Optimus some time earlier this morning when he had gently woken me up and politely requested them. It was rather sweet, he treated me as if I were some kind of delicate instrument or a noble lady, always so reserved but respecting in his tone.

"You awake 'lil cherry?" Jazz's voice came through the radio as I pushed myself upright in my seat and wriggled around until I was more comfortable but I could already feel my legs cramping up and my back felt like it hadn't moved since last night which made it achy.

"Yeah I'm up, where are we heading?" I asked him as I looked out the window to see little else other than dusty desert terrain and a long open road. "I don't recognise where we are, how long have we been driving?"

"Haven't stopped since you fell asleep cherry, we been on the road for miles and heading to what you folks call the windy city. Or at least, someplace outside it. We got the Cube's location from them glasses of yours and the coordinates point us in this direction." He informed me as I opened his window a little to allow some fresh air inside, breathing in the dry taste of sand and dust before exhaling and leaning back once more. "You okay?"

"I'm worried about Sam and Michaela, Bumblebee especially." I murmured, pushing a hand through my hair as I slid off my jacket and tied the arms around my waist as it was too hot to be wearing denim out here. "I mean, who knows what those freaks are doing to them? I know I was a little suspicious and wary around Bumblebee at first but he never meant any harm and even saved our lives. I don't want him getting hurt, I don't want any of you guys getting hurt." Reaching out a hand I rubbed the steering wheel, wondering if Jazz could feel it or even knew that I was trying to show affection. "You guys sure do leave an impression."

"We do our best cherry. Don't worry about old Bee, he'll pull through and your boy isn't as scrawny as he looks. No doubt we'll be seeing them again soon. Real soon, like, right now." Frowning I sat up and looked ahead through the window where I could see a military escort and the flash of bright yellow as they drove past our entourage and I caught a swift glimpse of two figures riding inside the Camaro.

"Sam! Michaela! Bumblebee!" I yelled out instinctively and twisted in my seat to try and catch another glimpse, hoping that this was not some crazy coincidence and that it was another hot yellow Camaro with black racing stripes who just so happened to have a military escort. Without giving me any warning at all Jazz suddenly hit the brakes and turned sharply to do complete one eighty, causing me to screech and grab onto the front seat to keep myself from slamming against the window and possibly cracking open my skull. "OH MY GOD!" Once we were straightened up and driving in the right direction I was able to let go and sit back down once more, breathing through my shock and trying to stay calm. "Did not expect you to do that."

"Sorry cherry." Jazz crowed with a distinct tone of amusement in his voice, making me scowl at the radio before rolling my eyes. "They got the Cube, we're gonna follow them into the city and get it as far away as we can before those ugly faced 'cons can get their claws on it." He informed me simply as he overtook Ironhide to drive directly behind Optimus, the Autobots seemingly falling into a formation of sorts. "Sam and Michaela are with Bumblebee, so everybody's okay."

"Oh thank god for that." I breathed in relief as I slumped against the seat and allowed myself to properly relax. Now that I knew Sam and the others weren't being tortured or killed, I could finally focus on the fact that I was starving hungry. When this is all over, I'm going to make somebody take me to a burger place or something. Maybe I'll make the government pay in compensation for all this trauma and stress. Huh, a meal at the expense of the government, sounds good to me. We drove at top speed and did not slow down even as we hit the highway, weaving in and out of civilian cars and I silently prayed that everything would go smoothly.

No sooner had I thought this, I heard the crashing of cars behind me so I quickly looked back over my shoulder to see that same cop car from before as well as a huge military vehicle with a freaking _claw_ chasing after us. "Holy…this is not gonna be our day, huh Jazz." I murmured quickly before squeaking. "Watch out!"

"Hang on." Jazz quickly served and amped up the speed, pulling alongside Bumblebee where I immediately leaned across and hammered my hand against the window to get Sam and Michaela's attention. I saw their panicked faces appear at the glass, staring across at me as I mouthed the words of warning and pointed behind us whereby I saw Sam instantly start to panic. If anything, I could even tell he'd gone waxy and pale from here. "You'll be glad you don't have anything in your stomach now cherry, this might be a rough ride."

"Oh joy, just please don't let me become road kill, I'm too young and colourful to die!" I told him worriedly as I gripped onto my seatbelt which had snapped into place over me and trying my best not to hyperventilate even as that huge monster truck thing came bearing down towards us. "Who even is that? They're Decepticons right?"

"Yup, that's Barricade and Bonecrusher. If they're here than you can bet your pretty little ass that there'll be more coming after them."

"Those guys have such lovely names." With a sarcastic drawl I took a deep breath and watched as the Decepticon transformer stood up in the middle of the highway, seemingly not caring for the fact that there are hundreds of witnesses around him and started sliding like a hockey player on the road with his wheeled feet. "Oh crap, he's coming. Jazz he's coming!" My eyes watched as this monstrous thing came gliding towards us however Optimus suddenly pulled back, hitting the brakes hard and began to transform also. "Wait, what the hell are you doing? There are people everywhere!" Now, I know that he wouldn't have been able to hear him however I did hear the powerful boom of the two large transformers clashing and it kick started my heart once more. "Shouldn't we go help him or something?"

"He'll be fine. The boss is the best of us so he won't need our help, our priority is the Cube and making sure those rust heads don't get their hands on it. Besides, boss ordered me to be your guardian and keep you save. Can't put you in harm's way now, can I?" Still I twisted back in my seat with worry, trying to see Optimus fight but we were moving too fast but I was fairly certain that the cop car, Barricade, was still following us.

"The others are still following us, that's bad right?"

"Yup, we're losing them now so don't worry cherry." He assured me then hit the accelerator, tossing me back into the seat from the sudden velocity.

"Oh my god, you drive like a maniac!" I whispered in pure terror as Jazz weaved in and out of the other cars towards Mission City, seemingly not caring by the fact that other cars were being forced to brake and swerve just to avoid hitting him or being hit by him. Seriously, did these guys bother to read a driving manual on their way down here? It's almost as if he wants to get us killed!

"Just feeling the wind cherry girl." Jazz answered in a rather silken purr before I then heard a kind of clicking sound, making me frown in confusion at the dashboard.

"Did you just wink at me?"

"Sure did."

"Oh wow. I cannot believe the last couple of days I've been having. Next thing you know I'm going to be taken to a mortuary. Cause of death? Death by suicidal alien space robot." I said sarcastically as I wriggled nervously around in my seat and delicately tapping at the brake to see if it would work but Jazz had absolute control, meaning I couldn't slow him down.

"Now what's so bad about me?" Jazz teased as he shot past a red light and an orchestra of horns honked after us as I tried to hide my face from any cameras in case I would get identified and laden with a load of tickets which would no doubt put me in debt for the rest of my life.

"The fact that you intend to kill me." I stated bluntly before jumping violently in alarm. "Look out!" Screeching and pointing at the car that was cutting across us, Jazz jerked to the left and sped around the back end which forced the other car to make an emergency stop and I caught a brief flurry of swearing and insults as we drove away. To be honest I don't blame the guy, I would have probably have done the same if there was a driver like Jazz out on the road.

"Now that's just rude man!" Jazz huffed as we entered the city, Bumblebee hot on our tail with Ironhide and Ratchet bringing up the rear and the military escort maintaining its formation around us.

"Jazz, pedestrians! People! You know? Human beings who aren't made from metal so can be killed or seriously injured by a mad autobot that can't resist hitting them because he likes to go fast?"

"Oh yeah, I got this cherry, don't you worry."

"WATCH OUT!"

"Man, you need to chill! I got this girl!" He laughed then finally started to slow down as we all fell into a tighter group. Until finally we came to a halt on the road, people being made to evacuate the area and the moment we came to a standstill I opened up Jazz's door and leaped out, running forwards as Sam and Michaela got out of Bumblebee.

"Sam! Sammy!" Upon hearing my voice he quickly turned around and a flash of relief crossed his face as I raced to him and jumped into his arms which quickly snatched me up. "Thank god, thank god I was so worried about you." I whispered to him as I hugged him with all my might.

"Jesus Helen, I thought they were gonna get you too. Are you alright? Did you stay with the Autobots all this time?" Sam fussed over me as he stepped back and gripped my shoulders, demanding to know what happened.

"I'm fine, I stayed with them just in case I could help somehow. I'm so happy to see you again, I thought you were going to be locked up forever." I exhaled then looked to Michaela who was standing slightly to the side so I reached out and grabbed her arm to pull her towards me. "Come here you, I was worried about you too don't worry. They didn't hurt you right?"

"No, I'm fine. Thanks for worrying." She answered with her pretty smile and her arm came around my waist as we all stood together, revelling in the fact that we were reunited again despite the fact that the circumstances meant that we could probably die at any moment. "Hey, you look real different without all that makeup and glitter." Michaela noted and I blushed slightly. "I like you like this."

"Gee thanks, I'm blushing." I smiled with embarrassment however our small moment of peace and gladness was short lived. We suddenly became aware of the fact that green smoke was filtering all around us and the rush of a jet sounded above, causing all three of us to look up. "Is that one of ours? Did we get air support?" I asked however before anyone could answer, the jet sped out of sight but I could still hear it, the sharp sound panging my ears so I guessed that it was just turning around. We'd be alright now, right? Wrong. The moment I saw Ironhide hurriedly transforming, I got a dark feeling in my stomach which told me that something was very wrong.

"It's Starscream!" Ironhide shouted to us and instantly there was a panic. I didn't know who or what a Starscream was, however judging by the reactions of all the Autobots it probably wasn't something friendly. "Back up! Back up! Take cover! Bumblebee!" Ironhide ordered, trying to get people out of the way and Bee hurriedly transformed. His hand reached out to the three of us and he made urgent sounds, trying to push us back so I grabbed onto Michaela and Sam by their hands.

"Come on! We have to move, hurry!" We started to run, trying to get clear and somewhere safe however when the jet came back around all I heard was that intense whistling sound growing louder and louder in my ears before the giant boom which hit the ground and caused it to quake. The force of the explosion caused me to lose hold of both Sam and Michaela, our collective yells and screams echoing in my head as I felt the ground leave my feet before I was flipped over once and landed heavily on my back. Everything hurt in that moment and I gripped my ears, feeling hot blood spilling free from there as glass, ash, smoke and debris fell from above and grazed at my skin.

For a moment I could do nothing but lay there, the light turning bright in my eyes and so intense that I could hardly focus on anything except the ringing in my head, taking over all sound until a shadow blocked the sunlight and hands gripped my arms. A soldier, I don't know who, just a soldier but he was shouting at me or at least emphasising his words because his lips were very distinctly moving, trying to get my attention until finally he pulled me up into a sitting position and lifted me off the ground onto his shoulder, carrying me towards the side of the road where I started to regain my senses. "Sam…Sam…Sammy?" Looking around desperately as he tried to set me down on the ground, I staggered and searched until I saw him with Michaela and Bumblebee. "Oh…my…god. Bumblebee?"

His legs had been completely blown off and as he struggled to crawl forwards I could only stare in horror, hands jumping to cover my mouth before I pushed my way through the soldiers, fighting to get to both my friends and Bumblebee as I called out his name a little louder, causing his head to lift slightly and search for me. Jazz quickly backed up out of the way as I streaked forwards, somehow managing not to lose my balance as I hit the ground and didn't care about ripping my jeans on the tarmac. As Bumblebee made soft sounds of pain with his voice I reached out and lifted his face in my hands, holding onto him as our eyes met. His eyes bore into mine as I naturally stroked his cheek and face, tears of alarm, empathy and worry streaming down my face as I looked at this now helpless creature. "It's gonna be okay." I promised him weakly though it was feeble and held no guarantee. I just wanted to comfort him and that was all I could do.

"Bee, you have to get up. Get up Bee. You're okay, you're okay." Sam desperately tried to get him to stand, trying to find a way to reassure himself that Bumblebee was going to be okay and get out of this alive, even if not in one piece.

"He can't Sam." I told him softly, trying to hold myself together as Bee tried to push himself up but failed. Sam looked more horrified than anything, as if he had witnessed his own friend being blown apart and was now bleeding out. In some ways, I guess Bumblebee was his friend. All the Autobots were, they had protected us, were fighting for our world and now Bumblebee was hurt. I could feel that pain as surely as if I had had my own legs ripped off. "Easy, easy now. Just relax Bumblebee, we're gonna get you out of here." Letting go of him I stepped back, giving him space as he tried to pull himself forwards once more whilst Sam desperately yelled for help.

"Ratchet!" Bumblebee turned his face into me briefly, eyes flickering across my face before he reached out a hand and touched a single finger to my cheek, making me blink before I realised that he was trying to wipe away my tears and I couldn't help but smile. He was so gentle natured and sweet, how could I have ever not trusted him before?

"It's alright. We're not gonna leave you." Sam assured him gently as Michaela and I came forwards once more and the three of us crouched down with Bumblebee to keep him company, even though there was little we could do. Suddenly the air was filled with gunfire, large bursts of sound which caused me to hastily grab onto Sam and Michaela and push their heads down to cover them, ducking my own head over theirs as Bumblebee lifted up one arm and curled it around us as a shield. The first few fires seemed to strike the ground as I could feel it shaking the earth so I gradually dared to lift my head.

"We've got incoming, it must be another Decepticon only this time, its a freaking tank."

"Seriously?" Sam freaked and I could hear Michaela hyperventilating so I searched around for her hand and gripped onto it tightly for her security, giving a brave smile before urging us to move a little just so that we were better covered. Jazz, Ratchet and Ironhide all went forwards to engage with the newly arrived Decepticon and the soldiers followed suit, leaving the three of us alone with Bumblebee.

"Hey Helen, help me with this." Michaela suddenly said as she gripped my arm and already pulling me away from Bumblebee and Sam. Looking ahead I saw exactly what she had, a big tow truck which would be perfect for getting Bee out of here.

"I love the fact that you're a hands on girl." I said to her and I caught her quick smile as we raced forwards together, still holding one another's hands like it were our lifeline.

"Trust me you don't even know the half of it. We need something to break the window, anything…" Michaela looked around quickly however I had already grabbed onto a lump of tarmac which had been ripped up from the road, striding forwards and confidently slammed it through the glass to break it. I quickly pulled up the lock and opened the door, fumbling a moment with my jacket before I yanked it off from my waist and spread it out over the seat so that Michaela wouldn't cut herself. "That works too. Let me handle the rest." Michaela touched my shoulder so I moved aside to make way for her and watched with interest as she pulled free the wires and started to hotwire the car.

"So…where did you learn this kind of stuff?" I asked her curiously, turning my head to keep an eye on any possible Deceptions that might suddenly drop in.

"My dad. It's a long story but basically he taught me everything there is to know about cars. It's just that sometimes those cars weren't exactly his to begin with." Michaela told me honestly yet a little warily, glancing up at me as I stared at her.

"That…is…awesome. I like you more and more. After this is over, we should hang out sometime. Do you like burgers?"

"Oh yeah totally."

"Great, we'll grab some chow together and go to the mall or something. Anyway, how is that hotwiring coming along?" I questioned as Michaela continued to fight with the truck until finally it guttered into life and she turned a victorious smile back at me and dusted off her hands.

"Like a charm. Hop in." At her invitation I quickly raced around to the other side whereby Michaela unlocked the door so I could hoist myself up and once I had pulled the door too, she quickly sped forwards and drove the truck over to where Bumblebee lay with Sam watching over him. The streets were absolutely crazy, full of screaming people all racing for their lives or cowering away in frozen fear. "Sam, help me with this." Michaela called as she dropped down from the truck, already set on getting Bumblebee out of here.

Everywhere I looked there was panic and devastation, however when I heard both Autobots and soldiers yelling for retreat I jumped out of the truck and cautiously walked forwards, almost in a trance as I tried to figure out what was going on. "It's Megatron, retreat!" I'm not sure who was shouting, but that name caught my attention and a seemingly instinctive reaction of fear took me. That was even before I saw him. Somehow, he was even uglier than all the others with eyes of bloodthirsty red, face snarling as he fired upon civilians and soldiers alike, not seeming to care who he hit. Not even his own people. "Oh god…things just got a helluva lot worse." My voice was barely audible as I spoke.

I tried to do a head count but all I could see was Ironhide and Ratchet. Where the hell was Jazz? I can't see him. People started to knock into me in their desperation to run and I felt a shoulder or two power against mine but I fought against the crowd, trying to move in a little closer and craned my neck to see until finally I climbed up on top of a car, balancing carefully as my eyes scanned our surroundings. "Helen? Helen!" Sam yelled at me as he looked up to find I was gone, desperately searching until he saw me on top of that car. "Helen! What are you thinking? Get back here!" Behind me I also heard Bumblebee wailing and calling out urgently but I could hardly hear them over the noise.

I was still looking for Jazz, however when I finally saw him, I felt my entire body seemingly drop into a cold sense of dread and fear as I saw him being crushed under Megatron's foot like he was nothing. "Jazz!" I had no idea I could scream like that, with so much desperation and terror for another person. The rising wail which rang out was enough to make several heads turn and before I knew it, I was running forwards. I leaped from car to car, rushing over the top to keep away from the crowds of people trying to escape the danger until finally I jumped down and hit the ground. I don't know what came over me but all I could think was that I had to reach Jazz, I had to get to him and try to help. Something, anything at all.

"Hey stop, stop! Are you crazy?!" Someone grabbed me around the waist and hauled me back as I screamed in protest, flailing and struggling as I was dragged backwards out of the crossfire.

"No! No! Let me go! He's going to kill him, he's gonna kill Jazz!" Megatron picked up Jazz and flung him like a ragdoll through the air, smashing him into a building which crunched under his weight though he tried to return fire with a few missiles but none of them hit their target, Megatron laughing maniacally as he dodged them before shooting back at Jazz which struck his smaller body and caused him to drop to the ground. "No! No!" Sobbing through my pleading I was pressed into the ground in order to be properly restrained, the soldier covering my head before trying to get me to go back.

"Get out of here civilian, go now!" The moment I was pushed back he turned around and returned to firing upon the enemy who seemed to be on us on all sides. Frantically I searched around, turning my head this way and that until I saw a military vehicle laying abandoned at the centre of it all, however the gun on top of the hood was what took my attention. Without even thinking about it I ran forwards again, putting on a burst of speed to get through the soldier's barricade and escape them before they could catch me. I heard them yelling, shouting a warning that a civilian had entered the crossfire but I didn't care. All I knew was that Jazz was being turned to scrap metal by that hunk of junk Megatron and I wasn't going to let him do that to my friend.

"What are you thinking cherry? Get out of here!" Jazz thundered to me and I could hear his rage but that didn't stop me. Keeping my head low I ran for all I was worth, streaking through the explosions and did not stop until I reached the machine gun. Now, how the hell do I work this thing? Fumbling for a few seconds I swung the gun around to face Megatron's back, flexing my fingers and taking a deep breath before opening fire. The power of the machine ripped through my arms and shoulders, making me yell in pain before I forced myself to adjust and gripped on for all I was worth.

With no particular means of accurate aim I simply fired in Megatron's general direction until finally I started to hit the back of his head and back, making me laugh from the euphoria of the adrenaline. My ears were so full of sound that they were thrumming in pain, each boom and crackle of thundering missiles and bullets imprinting themselves on my memory. The bullets ricocheted off of Megatron's body however it was enough to grab his attention. That dark snarl turned directly onto me and when those red eyes looked directly into mine, I froze.

My hands went lax on the trigger and I could do nothing but stare at the horrifying features of this Decepticon leader. All I could think about was the fact that this thing was the exact opposite of Optimus Prime in every way and this guy terrified me. It was like you could tell that he was planning on peeling away your skin with its metallic claws and splitting you open just for the sake of it. Megatron growled darkly, turning around and lifted an arm where it started to shift and change until I was staring down the face of a double barrel gun.

Truthfully, I felt sick and wanted nothing more than to just piss myself right there but something triggered in me, my instincts to survive. I pulled the machine gun around once more and open fired, aiming for the face and sure enough, when Megatron fired the blows were enough to make him rip back his head and the missile went wide, though it still hit close enough to throw the military truck up into the air with me still on it. Now I screamed. My arms flailed and I saw myself see ground, sky, ground and then sky again with no way of stopping myself.


	8. Chapter 8

When I hit the hood of a car I saw everything go completely white before me, an unclear vision of the world stinging my eyes. I couldn't move, my body had gone completely into shock and without any air in my lungs, I was starting to choke on nothing. Eventually the bright white started to fade away, giving way to pure blue skies above me and the glistening glass of skyscrapers. For the second time that day I failed to hear anything but a dull thrum of vibrations and a strong high pitched tone in my head. I was glad the car broke my fall though the glass windshield had been totalled, cracked to pieces and I'd bent the hood but I figured that it's not exactly my fault and who was going to prove I did the damage?

Labouring to drag air into my lungs I carefully rolled onto my front, seeing the asphalt below though it wavered in view. My movements were sluggishly slow as I slid down from the hood of the car but just as I placed my feet on the ground, someone came up behind me and suddenly I was being turned around to face someone. "Ma'am? Ma'am?" The soldier was one I had seen before but I could hardly understand what he was saying, hearing only a little of his words. "My name is Captain Lennox, I'm gonna get you out of here but I need you to focus. Can you stand?"

"Jazz." Where was he? Where was Megatron? Had Jazz managed to get away? I need to see him, I want to make sure that he was okay. Obviously seeing that I was in no state to do anything independently I was lifted off the ground and carried back to the soldier's roadblock where they were hiding behind the upturned tarmac for cover. Lennox placed me on the ground where my eyes rolled to the back of my head, still recovering from the blast and he had one of his medics look me over before turning to his team.

"What's going on?!"

"Sir! That tank thing is getting back up." Tank? You mean that freaking tank which keeps on trying to blast us to pieces? This day is definitely not one of my best days, though it's probably the most exciting day I've ever had in my life. The medic was trying to get me to sit still but I squirmed in my place, trying to get up and move as I asked for Jazz, wanting to know if he was okay.

"These things don't seem to die." Lennox said as he stared down the road before turning around and as my focus started to come back, I noticed a large black figure landing on one of the buildings with rotary blades sliding behind its back. "Oh we are so dead." Lennox groaned.

"Blackout!" Ratchet growled, arming himself with a cannon and shooting at the Decepticon. At first I was incredibly confused about what was going about me with all these shapes and noises until slowly, things came back into reality and I was struck in the face with how much danger I really was in. Oh crap, oh crap oh holy freaking crap! I need to get out of here now before I become robot food or something worse! With the soldiers all busy trying to cover their own asses with this new Decepticon on the scene I started to body crawl away, keeping my head down and making my way towards a trashed car where I situated myself behind it, trembling and hyperventilating alone whilst gripping onto my head.

I could feel blood coming out my nose and I felt like I'd been smacked all over my body with a bag of bricks but at least now I was able to focus on things around me and I could concentrate my train of thought, however getting out of the way was as far as I'd got and unfortunately for me, I was still very much in the middle of battle. When the car was blown away by a rouge shot from the Decepticons I let rip a scream, gripping my hands over my ears to try and drown out the blaring noise around me, much good it did. The car was blasted backwards and tossed onto its hood, leaving me completely exposed.

"Run little girl! Get out of here!" Some of the soldiers were yelling and frantically waving their arms so I picked myself up and ran in the direction they had guided me in, racing for all I was worth and thanking god that I was not wearing any of my platform heels today. Small mercies. Small mercies indeed. A sudden plunge of my stomach forewarned me of the danger which came ripping through the street out in front of me in the shape of massive Decepticon which looked awfully familiar.

"Human scum, I'll kill you all! Starting with you." The cop car from before, Barricade. Not good, not good! I'd skidded to a halt but I was way too out in the open to dive for cover and there was no way I'd be able to outrun this guy, I was staring death in the face. The pure panic I expected to feel surprisingly did not feel as intense as it had been before, in fact, my body had already rushed into the fight or flight response and considering I was facing down a mega sized metal alien robot, I chose flight.

Barricade gave a war mongering roar as he punched a fist into the ground where I had been standing only a heartbeat ago. Thank god for survival instincts, I'm going to need them if I'm going to live until tomorrow. I darted forwards and dived between the Decepticon's legs, crawling my way through to remain momentarily undetected. "Come here filthy rodent, I'll pop your optics from their sockets and rip the spark right out of your chest!" Although I was not yet completely up to scratch with alien robot terminology, I could more or less follow along with the threats that Barricade was throwing at me as I quickly ran about behind him in a circle as he swung himself around to try and catch me, firing wildly as I quickly tried to come up with a better plan as quite honestly, this wasn't going to work for long.

As if the universe had read my mind, Barricade lifted up a massive foot and started to stamp on the ground, causing it to shudder underneath me and my knees gave out rather violently at the force, causing me to hit the ground with a cry of alarm and panic. As the metal foot came crashing down once more I rolled, desperately scrambling out of the way then bolted for all I was worth, trying to make for a turn in the road so that I could hide behind some buildings and maybe evade being captured by this psychotic alien. "I'm not gonna die I'm not gonna die, I'm too damn gorgeous to die!" My chanting didn't exactly help, but it did relieve some of the built up tension inside me and relieve my throat from all my panicked and rather ungracious screaming.

"Found you." That dark growl emanated from the back of my head, slowly swelling within my own mind like a predator had situated itself there and was now slowly taking over. My head turned, eyes flashing with the fiery light of a missile being fired from one of Barricade's cannons which came powering towards me even as I ran. I wanted to dive out of the way, my brain already angling myself towards a pile up of cars and ripped up tarmac, however I heard another voice from another corner in my mind as everything seemed to swallow me up at once.

"Hang on cherry!" A flash of silver caught my eye before it all went dark yet strangely I wasn't afraid, in fact quite the opposite. I finally felt safe. A huge body curled over me and rolled, wrapping me up in huge metallic arms which engulfed me completely and my fingers instinctively latched onto the breastplate of the Autobot who had grabbed me from danger, snatched me right of the way like it was nothing. We continued to fly, elevated off the ground until we hit something solid and by the sound of shattering glass I guessed it was a shop or something, though no one else seemed to scream so I think we were clear of any other civilians.

In the next heartbeat Jazz had swung himself up onto his feet and although he seemed to be badly injured at the shoulder, he fired back upon Barricade and got in a few good shots as he retreated back, me still clutched into his arm before he climbed up the building and swung the both of us away to create a safer distance, Barricade now being engaged with a second platoon of soldiers which gave us enough time to set down elsewhere. "Jazz!" In my excitement and relief to see my silver knight again, alive, I flung my arms around his neck and hung there as he let go of me and allowed myself to hug him like that. "Thank god, I didn't see what happened to you, I'm so glad you're alright."

"Well, more or less in one piece, though could be worse. If it weren't for that shooting of yours, I'd be in a wore state sure enough. Looks like I owe you one cherry." He answered me with a roll of his shoulders to enact a shrug, making me smile as I was slowly lowered to the ground.

"All things considered, I think we can call it even now." I told him, looking up into his crystalline blue eyes but ducked down when I heard another explosion nearby, instinctively covering my head however Jazz reassured me with a nudge.

"You should be okay here, just don't go doing anything reckless now. The boss has just rolled up so we'll be hitting back on these dumb 'cons with everything we got. Can't fight whilst worrying about you cherry, so you stay put, ya hear?" Jazz warned me sternly, sounding the most serious I had ever heard him considering his usual laid back, easy going attitude and casual tone.

"Don't worry about that, I'm done being a hero for today. Just be careful out there for me, those Decepticons look mean, ugly and can pack a punch." Reaching out a hand I smiled up at Jazz and gripped onto his arm as a gesture of goodwill. Jazz returned the smile and I still found it fascinating the way that their faces could convey emotions just like us humans even though they were made of metal.

"I'd like to see them put a scratch on me. Keep down 'lil cherry, I'll be back for ya." Jazz promised, bumping a fist with me which caused me to laugh as he then jumped straight back into the battle, using a streetlight to swing around before powering a kick to Barricade's face. I couldn't help it, I gave a whoop and a cheer for the first strike going to my newfound friend, pausing only a few moments to make sure he had things under control before then ducking under and trying to move further away from the fighting but I seemed to have been boxed in. Both sides of the street there were Decepticons, one of them being that rather deadly looking chopper. Blackout, I think that's what Ratchet called him. What can I do? I have to do _something_ to help rather than just stand here like a lemon.

My eyes fell on an abandoned truck so I ran over to it and quickly looked in the back, searching for anything useful but only found a few cable hooks and some rope. A light went off in my head, the items suddenly giving me an idea and as I lifted my head, my gaze came to rest on a hardware store just a little way down the road. This is perfect, just what I need. I grabbed the hooks and rushed to the shop, wincing guiltily as I slid in through the broken window as the door had been blocked by fallen shelves. I rifled through the stocks, grabbing the strongest cable wire I could find as well as a length of metal piping, some industrial wire which I wrapped around it before grabbing the rest of the stuff I needed, including a thick pair of gloves.

I'm banking everything on all the studying and learning I've done these past seventeen years, otherwise this could very well end badly for me. I used the cable wire and hooks to create a trip wire between two street lights, tightening it as much as possible with the clamp until it was so taught I could have walked over it without fear of it giving way. With that accomplished, I set up the next part of my plan, taking deep breaths to remain calm as I wrapped wire around the metal pole then ran the wires all the way to the nearest power source, carefully tapping into the grid's electricity power and praying that I wouldn't accidentally electrocute myself when I switched it all on.

With everything lined up, all I needed now was to get that Decepticon's attention. Question. How do you make a Decepticon mad? "Hey ugly! I haven't seen useless scrap metal like yours since the start of oxidisation in history, how can you even move with all that crap on you? You know, if I had to go out in public with an ugly mug like yours, I would have stayed home on whatever alien planet you came from!" Dark red eyes turned to me and that familiar feeling of dread washed over me once more. "Okay, seems like I got your attention." With the rock I had gripped behind my back I flung it with all my might and the Decepticon watched as it sailed through the air, arcing rather nicely before it bounced off its thick hide. That's when it roared. "Holy fu-!" Wasting no time I ran for it, going as fast as I could.

Seeing the wire ahead I flung myself forwards and slid underneath it, aiming at an angle to disappear underneath a truck which allowed me time to disappear from the evil robot's sight and keep on running, feigning to go hide in a building however the moment the Decepticon ran into my trap its foot crashed against the wire and tripped it up, causing the huge thing to come crashing down face first. A brief laugh of glorious victory overcame me before I grabbed onto the pole I had made into a makeshift spear, racing forwards and without hesitation or fear, ran straight onto the Decepticon's body. It was awkward enough to avoid the blades of its back however I found the weakest chink in its armour I could find then lifted up the pole, giving a yell of pure determination as I struck down and pierced its thick hide.

The Decepticon jerked from the unexpected entrance of something penetrating its armour, though I'm not quite sure if it could feel pain. None of that really concerned me in that moment as I ran back into the shop and grabbed onto the lever for the power, crossing my heart inwardly then switched everything on then dove for cover. The effect was instantaneous and way stronger than I anticipated. Sparks flew everywhere, fuses going and light bulbs bursting all around me after being lit up to blinding levels of brightness due to the overflow of electricity which poured in from the grid. Peeking out from where I was hiding I watched as ropes of electricity seemed to riot all over the Decepticon's body, making it convulse and contort with lights flashing and his body partially shifting from the intense level of power until finally the entire grid shut down into a complete blackout.

"Huh. Well what d'you know, the irony is golden." A blackout for Blackout, hopefully that will shut him down for a while, if it hadn't already killed him. Just to be safe I switched off the power source then tossed my gloves aside, striding out of the shop and looking both ways up and down the street before running forwards, wanting to try and find Sam, Michaela and Bumblebee. The soldiers were all cheering as I passed, some clapping me on the shoulder but I hardly took notice as I raced through the street, made a few turns until finally I came face to face with Optimus Prime fighting off Megatron with Sam scrambling underneath them, unable to escape. "Sammy!" At my yell his head jerked up and instantly I started to run to him.

Optimus was pushed back by Megatron, forcing me to dodge his foot but I swiftly weaved around him, dropping to the ground to avoid missile fire before then bounding back up once again as Sam staggered over to me. "Helen, Helen thank god, this is crazy, this is too _insane_ I can't even…"

"Get down!" Reaching him I lunged for his head and pulled it down, rolling us both against an uprooted stack of road to serve as a somewhat futile barrier against Megatron and Optimus as the two continued to fight. Sam and I wound our arms over each other's backs, gripping onto one another securely as our eyes lifted up above the ground to see what was going on and by the looks of things, Optimus was getting his butt kicked. "This is bad. Like, really bad. End of the world kind of bad."

"I know I know, we gotta do something." Sam agreed, arm still hanging onto me however as we shifted back further down to remain hidden and out of sight, he allowed the Cube he had been so desperately clutching to fall between us as he lifted his hands to my face and brushed aside my hair which had stuck to my brow from the sweat and grime. The both of us noted the other's bloodied features and I gingerly wiped at some dirt on Sam's face, the both of us just staring at the other with the sensation of gratitude that we were both still alive. "You alright? You hurt?" I shook my head, still trying to recover my breath. "Yeah? You good? Thank the lord. Don't run off on me like that again Hel, I thought you'd got killed or something."

"As if I'd let that happen. What's the deal with the Cube? Is there a plan or is hiding behind Optimus pretty much all we got right now?" Sam paused, glancing away briefly as he tried to think of a smart retort but came up short, evident in how his blank expression did not change.

"Yeah, that's pretty much it." Just perfect. "But listen, Optimus said something about putting the Cube in his chest if things went badly with Megatron, but he also said that he'd sacrifice himself to destroy this thing." My face paled in alarm but Sam continued, his fast paced talk already on a roll. "So that means that if I push this Cube into Optimus's chest or something, it's going to destroy them both but I can't do that, I can't. If we're going to get rid of this thing, then we're going to take out the enemy as well. You understand right?"

"Hell yeah, I gotcha. Don't worry Sammy, I'm behind you. All the way." I promised him, giving a smile as we lay side by side with the Cub between us. "And just so you know, I'm really glad we became friends. You are literally the only person I care about in this world. Well, only person who's human." Moving closer I wrapped my arms around his waist to hug him, closing my eyes as I rested my head against his chest for a few moments where I could feel his pulsing heart beating rather quickly in his chest. "So let's take out this alien bitch who thinks he can take over our world."

"Amen to that." Sam agreed with a quick nod of his head. Together the both of us rose to our feet, Sam holding the Cube under one arm and my hand in the other as I pulled him out the way as Megatron was thrown back, jets circling over the city now coming around and firing down upon both Megatron and Blackout who seems to have recovered from his little shock. "Damn it! They really don't stay down for long."

"Huh?"

"Don't worry I'll explain later!" I called across to Sam as we continued to duck, dive and scramble out of the way as Megatron and Optimus continued to grapple. "Sam move!"

"Helen!"

"Sam!" Optimus was flung onto his back, groaning as if in pain so I hurried over to him, pushing off the ground with Sam also coming towards the leader of the Autobots. "Optimus? Hey big red, you okay?" I asked with concern as I reached his head, reaching up with my hands and placed them against the surprisingly warm metal of his face. Weary eyes turned to look at me and as the sunlight shone overhead, my tousled mane of bright auburn hair seemed to catch the sunlight and come alive, eyes of expressive jade looking into electric blue. "Don't worry, I'm here. It's all going to be okay." I promised him, giving the strongest smile I could muster as Optimus exhaled deeply.

"Helen, you should not be here. Hurry, you must get away from here whilst you still can." He told me however when another wave of missiles came hammering down from our jets, Optimus quickly grabbed onto me with one hand and lifted me away whilst his other arm swung out to take out Megatron's legs and toppled him to the ground. I was flailing, yelping as I slipped through Optimus's fingers and landed on his torso, crouching down as he started to roll over so I hurriedly clambered down in order to avoid getting crushed. "Sam, put the Cube in my chest _now_." Optimus ordered but I was already running through the rushing movements of everything around me. My hands, steady and strong, gripped Sam under the arms and helped haul him up to his feet and together we pushed forwards, both of us holding onto the Cube as we acted together. "No Sam! Helen!"

I don't really remember everything that happened in that moment, it all went by so quickly and most of my memory is obscured by blinding white flashes. One thing I can be certain of, however, was the pain. It shot up my arm like acid in my veins, burning away at everything inside me as I gripped onto the Cube and helped Sam to push it into Megatron's chest. I still remember his scream, nothing like a roar and I could feel that agony as well like it had been my own. I guess in some ways it was. The Cube was being eaten away by something within Megatron's chest and the closer I looked, or even reached out to it, the more it seemed to resemble a heart, only it was much more alive.

It pulsed and beat like that of a human's, only it contained raw power and as I felt the Cube disappear into it, I also felt the rottenness that remained there. The corruptness, emptiness. It was terrifying. That was my real first glimpse at the heart of a true monster without feeling or remorse. As the pain continued to travel through me, my mind began to understand more things. I understood more about the Autobots and even the Decepticons, more about their world, their species, even their language. It all seemed to pour into me, burning my mind until the information and knowledge became too much for me to contain. Another thing I understood in that moment, was that the Cube was going to kill us too.

My gaze turned towards Sam and observed the strained expression he wore, one filled with determination and that of a strong will. In that moment, I knew what needed to be done. The sacrifice that needed to be made. What was it his father always said? No sacrifice. No victory. Now that I had participated in a war, I had a newfound respect for those words. Without a sound I reached out with one hand and pressed it against Sam's shoulder to give one strong push which sent him tumbling to the side, caught off guard. I watched as he hit the ground, giving a sad smile as I remained frozen in place.

All too quickly Sam whirled onto his back and our eyes met once more, the realisation coming too late to him. I think he yelled my name. He yelled something but I had lost the ability to hear and I could no longer taste the salt of my own sweat and blood in my mouth. I lost my sense of smell next, the metallic burning on the inside of my nose slowly fading away as I continued to hold up the Cube with just one hand towards Megatron. My eyesight remained a little longer but soon enough that had been burned away too, leaving my sense of feeling for last. Almost as if some kind of sick joke, my sense of feeling intensified tenfold before that too disappeared, leaving me in blinded agony and tormented pain as I collapsed to the ground as Megatron ripped back, his spark completely destroyed by the Cube's power.

I lay there in the dirt, flaming red hair splayed out like a veil, a splash of colour against all the dust and grey roads which had been torn up and destroyed. Was this what it felt like to die? I thought it was supposed to be peaceful, that you didn't feel a thing in your last moments and you would just drift up like an angel and live a life of luxury in some clouds or something like that. Whoever had spread out profanities like that, they were stupid. It wasn't peaceful, it wasn't even painless. I felt as if wildfire was dancing across my body and burning my insides out all the way to the end, staring sightlessly outwards without even knowing, in the moment that I died, if my eyes were even open or closed.


	9. Chapter 9

The fire was gone.

I didn't feel like I was being burned alive anymore. Did I really die and go to heaven? Was there even a heaven? Maybe I've been reincarnated or something and these are the first few minutes of my new life where I remember everything from before. Now that would be pretty cool, but somehow I don't think that's either. For one, I became very conscious of the fact that I could feel my body. All ten fingers and ten toes, each leg and arm and I can verify that I am not baby sized. In fact, I felt rather normal. In addition, I could also tell that I was lying down on a bed. More specifically, my bed.

I was in my huge bed in my huge room in my huge house. I was also alone. Completely alone. Trying to sit up I winced, flinching in pain as my ribs protested quite insistently against me moving too much. For a while I was confused. How did I end up back home? Had everything just been some kind of mad psychotic break and I'd imagined it all and somehow got myself hurt in the process? Looking across to the table I saw a buzzer to call for service so I pressed it, hoping to get some answers however I was surprised when someone I did not recognise entered the room. She was dressed like a nurse but she didn't appear to be an ordinary one on account of her uniform. I eyed her warily as she smiled at me, coming to my bedside with a clipboard clutched against her chest. "Good morning Miss Clarkson, it's good to finally see you awake."

"What am I doing here? How did I get home? What happened? Where's Sam and Michaela? What about the Decepticons?" I rattled off however the nurse merely smiled sympathetically and patted my shoulder.

"There, there, I know this must all appear frightfully confusing but I assure you that you are safe here. You're home, your parents have asked after your health and you are making a good recovery." The supposed nurse insisted without actually telling me anything useful. I eyed her warily, watching as she started to bustle herself about and assume to be busy. She tucked in the corners of my bed sheets, straightened the pillows and then began to take my temperature, my pulse and ran numerous other checks until I had become bored and frustrated by the fact that she was not listening to anything I had to say.

"Will you quit it?! What's going on? Who are you? You haven't even given me your name or told me where you're from, so either you start answering my questions now or I'm calling the cops." I warned her rather strongly, smacking her hand away as she came at me with a needle intending to take some of my blood.

"Now dearie, this is hardly the way to speak to someone who is simply trying to take care of you. Your parents hired me to look after you after you were brought home from hospital. I am not privy to the exact details of how you received your injuries, however I believe it has something to do with the altercations in Mission City. To my understanding you were caught in the crossfire of the conflict, terrorist attacks can be rather frightful so it is understandable that you cannot remember much of what happened, but I assure you that you are in the very best care. Here. My card." Keeping my eye fixated on her I snatched the card from her outstretched fingers and cast my eyes over it. Nurse Dylan from some popular private healthcare company. No kidding.

"In that case you may go. I feel fine." I dismissed her simply, tossing her card aside and flung back the covers in order to get up and shower. In truth I didn't feel fine, there was something very odd and strange about myself which I could not quite understand. There was a strong sensation of warmth in my chest, almost like a humming sensation yet it wasn't uncomfortable, it was like the feeling of a cat purring on your chest if anything. Other than that, I could feel a metallic taste at the back of my throat and no matter how many times I swallowed it refused to disappear.

"Honestly, I must insist that you return to bed. Young girls should not be up and about after such an awful accident, your mother will be quite upset to hear that you are not doing as your told." In that moment I turned a dark scowl upon Nurse Dylan. I loathed the way she spoke to me like I were some child that needed scolding, her condescending tone and sickly smile making me want to puke. The severe hairstyle looked as if she had scraped back every hair with a fine tooth comb and plastered it with oil and gel to make it stick under that stupid frilled cap of hers.

"Dismissed." I repeated in a deadly tone before locking myself in my bathroom as a means to keep a barrier between myself and her needles. That woman can go to hell, I don't care if my mother hired her or that she's just doing her job, I hate hospitals and nurses and their needles poking everywhere. For a while my head span so I slid my fingers into my hair and gripped it tightly as a futile attempt to ease the pressure, my vision blurring at the corners and wavering slightly with a faintness which soon passed, almost like vertigo. Once it was passed I hurriedly went over to the sink and gripped onto it, taking deep breaths before splashing my face with cool water. I felt better, however when I lifted my head I realised that I was surprised by how normal I looked. Sure there was a scrape or too, a little bruising here and there but I don't think there's anything too abnormal except this weird sensation in my chest. I just couldn't understand how I was alive.

I was confused and things were a little hazy so I decided to get my act together and find some answers. First I'll start with a shower and fix myself up so that I feel more like myself again. Maybe I'll even treat myself to a hair appointment and get permanent streaks in my hair just to piss off my parents. All this time I had used temporary extensions just so that they would be satisfied that I would look presentable at important functions, but I wasn't really worried about that anymore. Why should I? I'll be eighteen in a few weeks and then I'll be off to college, then it doesn't matter at all what I look like or what I do, it won't be up to them.

"Deep breaths Hel, we got work to do." I murmured before grabbing a towel. The shower was welcome and I turned up the heat just to feel it through my skin, basking in the warmth and the steam until I was certain that I had cleansed myself from all the dust, grime and anything else I had picked up whilst being in the middle of an alien war. When I left the bathroom I jumped with a curse of alarm to find the nurse still there.

"Are you ready to have your bloods taken now young lady? We need to be sure there are no nasty infections in your body and I am quite worried that you may be anaemic, you are quite pale."

"I'm a redhead, of course I'm pale. Now get out of my room! God, can't you take a hint? I don't want you looking after me like some five year old with a cold. I have a right to my own privacy and right now I'm standing butt naked with nothing but a towel around me so get out of here!"

"Now, now, no need for embarrassment dearie, I know it is an embarrassing predicament but I can assure you that I have seen it all before." With the frustration of this woman's denseness I almost raked the skin off my face as I dragged a hand down it, growling loudly before striding over and awkwardly gripping my towel with just the one hand. Grasping Nurse Dylan with one hand I marched her to my door despite her protests, insisting that my mother had left her with specific instructions and that it was her company policy to follow the contract to the letter.

"Then consider your contract terminated!" I yelled before slamming the door shut. To be safe I locked it, twisting the key and leaving it there though she knocked insistently on the door.

"Young madam! You are being quite unreasonable and rude. If you persist to be naughty, I shall be telling your mother!" Rolling my eyes I ignored her, drying off and wrapping up my hair before walking into my clothes room and searching through my things to find something to wear. Looking at all my clothes, I was happy to be surrounded by so much colour. There were frills, pleats, buttons, blazers, shirts, tops, skirts, jeans, rips, zips and everything fashionably conceivable in this wardrobe of mine. I had everything from punk to rock and roll to swing, sassy, Lolita, gothic and everything in between. My happy haven.

Reaching out I decided to go for something a little more casual but still very me. Of course platform heels were a must and the ones I pulled on were bright gold with lace ups all the way up my calves. Since it was still hot out I went for a pink layered lace skirt which came to mid-thigh and a white summer blouse before adding large gold hoop earrings, a gold chain belt which slung low on my hips over the skirt and put some purple streaks in my hair, adding a pearlescent shimmer to my cheekbones and gold glitter to my eyelids over the pink eye shadow which faded into darker purple, trying to match the colours. Feeling more like myself I smiled, winging my eyeliner then putting on a dark lip paint, watching my reflection in the mirror as I was slowly transformed. "Well, at least I feel more like my old self." I mused to myself, still ignoring Nurse Dylan's incessant knocking and endless counting to three in warning. What was next, putting me on the naughty step? Jesus.

I grabbed my Hello Kitty pouch bag which I slung over my shoulder and grabbed my phone, purse and keys as well as some spare cash I had stowed away in my private safe. Thankfully all my belongings seemed rather undisturbed though I did not trust the nurse to go rifling through if I left the door unlocked, so I bolted it to be sure and went for my window. My room faced the front of my house, so when I looked outside and saw the silver Porsche, my heart leaped to my throat even as I was calling Sam. "Jazz?" I knew it was him, I wouldn't mistake that model for anything else. It had to be Jazz, sitting there in my driveway perfectly blended in with the ridiculously rich surroundings.

"Hey this is Sam's voicemail, can't come to the phone right now so leave a message and I'll get back to you. Later loser." My head jerked when I heard Sam's voicemail message so I quickly cut the call, put my phone away and slung the strap over my shoulder as I opened up my window and began to descend down the house via the shrubbery. I had done this so many times that even in eight inch heels it was effortless, climbing down to the ground and dropping the last foot where I teetered a little awkwardly then went clopping forwards as fast as I could.

"Jazz! Jazz thank god you're here! I thought I had gone crazy or something and imagined everything but you're really here!" The moment I flung my arms onto Jazz's bonnet the car thrummed into life and purred underneath me, making me smile as I pressed my cheek into the warmth of his metallic surface.

"Been waiting for you a long while 'lil cherry, thought you'd never wake up. Glad to see you're okay, the boss has been on my aft demanding updates on you ever since you were brought back here." Hearing Jazz's voice felt like a blessing, one I welcomed whole heartily as I strutted around and slid into the driver's seat whereby the door naturally opened and closed for me without me even needing to touch it. "So you actually live here? This entire place is yours?"

"That's right, I hate it though. Too empty and spacious. I prefer a house like Sam's, far more cosy though that being said, I would have nowhere to put all my clothes. Step on it Jazz-man, I don't care where we go just get me out of here. There's a crazy nurse upstairs with a mission to steal my blood and I don't want to spend a single minute longer here than I have to." I thumped the dashboard heartily and Jazz roared his engine, revving it in response before tearing away and heading down the long driveway to hit the road. "Where is everybody? Are you all okay? What about Sam and Michaela? I couldn't get a hold of him."

"Don't worry yourself. Everybody is fine. Even Bee is back on his feet. Literally, Ratchet fixed him up and he's good as new. As for those humans of yours, they're practically stuck to each other's side and keeping engaging in the exchange of bodily fluids via the…"

"Yup, that's enough information." I halted him there, not wanting to know everything that Sam and Michaela had been up to since Mission City. "Hey Jazz, can you tell me what happened back in the city? I remember the thing with the Cube and Megatron, but nothing after that. Did I fall unconscious or something? Wait, is Megatron actually dead? Did we win? Oh lord, I have so many questions my head is spinning."

"Whoa now, slow down tiger. We got time, just chill for a while and feel the breeze." As Jazz spoke the driver's side window rolled down and I felt a fresh breeze flow in and I couldn't help but smile as a sweet smell from some flower field wafted inside. "Yeah, we beat Megatron and a lot of his dumb aft Decepticon buddies, but the Cube is gone too which means we can't rebuild our people anymore but that's okay. Boss says we saved earth and that's a good thing. Besides, I'm not so bummed about it, after all this place is pretty cool so we've decided to crash here for a while." I chuckled at that, one hand lazily resting on the wheel just in case someone caught a glimpse inside and saw a car driving with no one actually handling the wheel.

"I'm sorry about your people Jazz, and the Cube. I knew so little about it then ended up destroying it with Sam."

"No biggie. We'll figure something out cherry. It ain't your fault." Jazz told me warmly with a slight purr of his engine as he slowed up for some traffic lights. Glad to see he's driving more carefully than before, he hasn't broken the speed limit once. If anything, I'd say he was cruising along. "As for what happened…well. It's best if the boss tells you that himself. It's a little complicated."

"Complicated? Why what happened?"

"Like I said cherry, wait until we see the boss." I left it after that, the two of us chatting away and relishing in the fact that we had been victorious. Jazz was rather self praising about his own battle skills and retold each fight he had with meticulous detail before I then chimed in with what happened with me and Blackout and Jazz was so surprised that for a brief moment he forgot to pay attention to the road and almost swerved out of a lane. "Wow! No way! You are one badass human chic, I never heard of anyone ever doing anything like that! I'm bummed I missed all that action!"

"It was so awesome, I mean I wasn't even sure it would work because you know, he was one big ass robot and I didn't know if he'd just step over it or it would break underneath him but hell, he fell right on his face and I'm pretty sure I scratched or dented a few things up there, but it was even better when I flipped the switch and knocked him out with the electricity! It was so totally awesome and terrifying I can't even believe I did it."

"I'll say, you got the heart of an Autobot girl." Jazz complimented and I glowed with pride at his words. It was so easy to talk to Jazz and soon enough he was asking me questions about earth and our cultures, wanting clarification and further explanations on certain things and he had a particular interest in music so I plugged in my music to his radio and played some tunes I thought he'd like. I pinned him as a Jimi Hendrix kind of guy and sure enough, Jazz loved it. He also got into Fleetwood Mac, Queen and numerous other bands and great singers which I guided him towards, both classic and modern. Soon enough he was searching for the songs on the radio or channelling them himself and we were rocking out to some of history's best tunes. A favourite genre for Jazz also seemed to be rap and a classic rock, so I made sure to give him a broad education on the best artists to ever grace the world with their genius.

I didn't really ask where Jazz was taking me seeing as I trusted him with my life and I was up for a road trip, however when I started recognising my surroundings I leaned out the window a little as Jazz head towards a spot out of town where Sam and I used to go as kids on our bikes to play. It overlooked the town and had a beautiful view of the sunset and, much to my joy, everyone was already there. Jazz revved his engine to announce our arrival and the moment he stopped, I leaped out of the car and started running to where Bumblebee sat parked with Sam and Michaela leaning against him, hand in hand. "Sam! Michaela! Hey guys!"

"Helen!" A broad smile broke out across Sam's face and he let go of his now assumed girlfriend and came running to me. I jumped on him, wrapping my legs around his waist as he caught me and we spun, wide and stupid grins spread across our faces as we clutched each other close before Sam suddenly put me back on the ground. "Whoa, whoa, are you okay? You're not hurting or anything are you?"

"No I'm fine, what about you? We were both as beat up as each other and by the looks of things you still got a ways to go until all the scratches are gone. Just look at your face." I fussed over him, grabbing his head and tilting it side to side to carefully inspect his face before then lifting an arm and poking his sides until he gave a rather girly squeal of laughter, protesting as I teased him. "What about here? Here? Huh? That hurt? Oh you're just ticklish, sorry, I didn't know." Sam stumbled away from me in jitters, protectively clutching his ribs as Michaela walked over and gave me a big hug which I welcomed easily.

"It's so good to see you. We were worried. Suddenly you were gone from the hospital and no one would tell us where you went. In the end they finally told us your parents had brought you back home but we couldn't get anything about how you were or if you were recovering. Are you sure you're okay?" Michaela worried about me sweetly so I assured her I was fine before giving a playful smirk and asking how it was between the both of them and Sam immediately blushed bright red and Michaela gave a smile of laughter at her boyfriend's awkwardness.

"We're good, you know. Just taking it slow but you know, we kind of all saved the world together so I think we started our relationship off great." Sam informed me rather proudly as he placed an arm over Michaela's shoulder and she slid her fingers though his. I was happy for them, genuinely happy and it made me smile to see such a goofy expression on my best friend. It was about damn time he got a girlfriend and the hottest girl in school no less. Things are going to be super weird when we go back to school for finals. Shoot, I hope we haven't missed them. I don't even know what day it is, let alone how long I'd been unconscious.

"Looks like we got the crew all back together." Ironhide mused as he transformed, the others following suit.

"Nice to see you too Ironhide. All things considered, I would never have guessed you guys had been involved in a life and death war not so long ago. You all look great." I complimented as I placed my hands on my hips. "Bumblebee! You cannot even begin to imagine how happy I am to see you all in one piece, how do you feel?"

"I feel better than I have done in a long time." My jaw dropped at that as Sam's knowing grin widened. I couldn't believe it, Bee just spoke. In an English accent no less! "Ah, I forgot. You're not used to hearing me speak with my own voice. Unfortunately this fix is only temporary, it's a little touch and go as to when… _zzt_ …sometimes I can't… _zzt_ … _dang it!_ "

"That's amazing, I can't believe I've missed all the excitement. Sam is finally growing up, Bumblebee gets his voice back…sort of…anything else I should know about?" I questioned, turning around pointedly to face Optimus who had transformed and was now kneeling down to face me, his huge face looming over me so that I had to crane my neck just to see him. "Aren't you guys worried about being seen out here?"

"It is all in hand. Your government has given us permission to stay on this planet and call it home. Helen Clarkson, there is much that you must know. Please, do not be alarmed by what you will hear." Optimus warned me gently in his rumbling deep voice. His warning made me wary, cautious about what I was about to learn. As Optimus lowered his face further down to me, I felt that constant warmth and hum in my chest intensify somewhat enough so for me to flinch slight at the unexpected sensation and my hand gripped at it without even thinking. "Helen, I am afraid to say that in the incident where you and Sam pushed the Cube into Megatron's chest, you were not so lucky in your escape."

"What do you mean weren't so lucky? I'm alive aren't I? I'd call that a win if you ask me." I said to him nervously as I backed up a little, feeling a little pressured as the Autobots crowded around me and Optimus seemed to sense my nervousness so he waved a hand to back them up. Ratchet and Ironhide politely nodded their heads and took a large step away whilst Jazz transformed and pushed against my legs so that I sat down on the hood. Optimus looked down at me with that same grave expression, seemingly troubled in trying to find the right words to say which would cause the least amount of alarm or reaction.

"No, you did not escape with your life. In the moment the Cube fused with Megatron's spark, it began to fuse with both you and Sam, who were holding it at the time. It destroyed you from the inside out, such power was not meant for any human to contain. Because of the raw power it wields, the Cube destroyed you in the process. Thankfully you were able to save Sam before it got to him, but you suffered the price." Optimus continued to tell me and quite frankly, I am not liking where this story is heading. "I am deeply sorry, little one, but you were killed that day. The All Spark killed you as well as Megatron. The reason you are alive…is because of this." Reaching up with his hands I watched as Optimus pulled open the parts of his chest, revealing something bright blue and full of pure energy behind.

Instantly my mind started to waver and a strange weightlessness took hold of my body as I stared at the core of Optimus's being, the life force which kept him alive. His spark. Somehow, I just knew what it was. More than that, I felt connected to it. I could feel that same energy like I were an extension of it, an amassing vortex of power circling within my chest which grew warmer and warmer until it started to burn but not painfully. I gasped, shaking suddenly as I gripped my chest through my clothes as if to wrench them open. "You and I are bonded together, now and forever, Helen Clarkson. Forgive me for not being able to protect you, had I known this would have happened, I would have taken the Cube myself and done what needed to be done." Optimus finished as he closed his chest and the heat dimmed a little but now, I was all too aware of it.

"What…what are you saying?"

"Prime used a little of his own spark to restart your heart." Ratchet explained to me in simple terms, clarifying what Optimus had left unsaid. "It was a risky procedure but your human medics were unable to revive you. It was a final effort and would have proved useless had you not been in direct contact with the Cube's energy. Part of us now lies within you and Prime's energon is what's keeping you alive. It's a little unorthodox, however in medical terms, you could be considered his sparkling." Sparkling?

"What does that mean?" Sam questioned as I sat in silent stupor. "What the heck is a sparkling?"

"Well, in human terminology, it would be a similar definition to the word _child_." Ratchet answered helpfully however this only made my already spinning mind recoil further into bewildered confusion. My head was spinning with so many words and languages which I should have no conception of but it was all there, right inside my head. I knew the name of the home planet of Autobots and Decepticons, I knew about the war, their history, the stars they had discovered and worlds they had explored, I knew everything there was to know about them, even their anatomy and genetic makeup. It was almost too much, my head felt like it was fit to burst and the burning sensation was already returned.

"W-Wait, are you telling me that Helen is now Optimus's kid? As in, father daughter kind of thing? That's crazy! That's not possible!" Sam claimed in shock as Michaela rushed to my side and gripped my shoulders, asking if I was okay as I gripped my head.

"It hurts, it hurts so much." I whispered whilst gritting my teeth. For a moment I wasn't aware of what was happening around me as my head became too wracked in pain but when it subsided, I found I could see much clearer than before. Things seemed sharper, more in focus and as I blinked, I realised that both Sam and Michaela were sitting next to me on Jazz's hood and holding me upright whilst Ratchet scanned me and observed the diagnostics.

"Is it true?" Michaela was asking Optimus who turned his noble head down to look at us. "Is Helen really like your daughter now?" There were a few moments of silence before he nodded.

"Yes. I can already feel our bond solidifying. Like with all our sparklings, the bond between the sparkling and creator is very strong, binding them across the stars. I do not know what this will do to a human body, but I give my word that I shall not rest until we know the full consequences of my actions."

"It's not your fault." I spoke out and instantly Sam gripped my hand, looking at me with eyes full of concern. I reassured both of them with a squeeze of their hands before sliding off Jazz and walking towards Optimus. He was so tall that he blocked out the sun, towering above even the trees so when I reached out, I hardly even touched above his ankle. I pressed my hand flat against the smooth metal of his foot and felt a distinct warmth and comfort ease over me. The stoic presence of Optimus seemed to resonate within me and as I focused, I too began to understand and read the bond which was forming between us. He had given me new life, brought me back even when he was under no obligation to do so. I owed him for that and so much more. "I'm glad it's like this now. I'll think of it as a reminder of what we accomplished together. Humans and Autobots, working side by side. We pulled off some pretty awesome stunts, am I right?"

Stooping down Optimus gently picked me up in his hand and lifted me up to his face so that we could look at one another eye to eye. The bright blue gaze seemed to fill me warmth even though it was a cold looking colour, strikingly bold and brilliant even against the light of the setting sun. Stretching out a hand I pressed it against his cheek and he closed his eyes, or rather, optics, into my touch. They could feel. They felt just like us and I'm not talking about sensations alone. They could feel all kinds of emotions as strongly as a human does. Being like this with Optimus, bonded to his very heart, I could feel and understand everything he did and it was amazing. There really was very little difference between us, save for the fact he was several storeys higher than I was and made of metal, the heart which pulsed within my own chest felt very real. Very human. Almost like a soul.


	10. Chapter 10

Sadly we weren't all able to stay together after that. The Autobots split up in order to minimise the chance of being detected by either humans or rouge Decepticons. Optimus took Ratchet and Ironhide and went with their new military team in order to perform cooperative missions, forming the very first human-Autobot alliance. They worked together to keep the world safe and hunted down all Decepticons they could find, taking them all over the world. Of course, Bumblebee stayed with Sam to continue as his guardian and Jazz volunteered to stay with me.

At first I was worried that this would cause a problem as I understood him to be Optimus's second in command, however Optimus advised that I accept their protection. He didn't have to say but I could tell that he was worried about me. We still didn't know much about what was going to happen to me now that I was a walking catalyst of human and alien DNA. With Prime's energon and spark energy kicking around inside me, he wanted someone close by to keep an eye on me and make sure I was safe and who better than my own guardian? Jazz and I got along great so it was a no brainer and I was actually really glad I wasn't left behind. It was easy to fit Jazz in at my home and my parents didn't even bat an eyelid as they walked past a new Porsche. They didn't even ask me where it came from. They just walked in and demanded to know why I had dismissed the nurse they had employed.

I then sat through the entire lecture of being ungrateful and not knowing what was best for me since I was still an ignorant child all the while Jazz listened outside. My parents lectured me for a solid twenty minutes until my father got a call from work and interrupted himself to take it and after that, my mom lost interest so I grabbed my bag and study materials, hurried out the door and jumped into Jazz so that we could escape. "Those are your parents?"

"Yup, that's them. Now you can see why Optimus is like a premium upgrade in comparison. They don't really care about what happens to me. I once fell out a tree and broke my collarbone but neither of them noticed. One of the maids had to take me to hospital because they were busy." Jazz was silent for a moment before snorting.

"Humans are strange." With that we escaped and I camped out with him, reading and studying for my finals with some tunes in the background. Life became pretty normal, even with the alien presence around. Some government officials came by a day or so after I recovered and made me sign a contract of discretion which basically meant if I breathed a word about anything that had happened, they would sue me blind and I'd be arrested with a life sentence of imprisonment. I was fine with signing it, it's not like I'm going to sell out the Autobots and their secrets anyway, they were like family now.

Ratchet checked in every day, wanting to know of any changes and Jazz scanned me for him and sent over the information each day which thereby kept Optimus informed. I even had my own radio link to talk with them whenever I wanted. It was like an earpiece which hooked over my ear and I could communicate with them whenever I wanted. Most days Optimus radioed in just to ask how I was and make sure I was being well taken care of, but after that, we ended up talking quite casually. He took an interest in my daily activities and seemed particularly intrigued by my school life. I guess such a concept would be fascinating to an autobot who probably didn't even have schools like we do back on Cybertron.

To say school was different was an understatement. After literally going through hell in Mission City, I took on a new attitude to life, which was the fact that you had to live in the moment and enjoy as much of it as you could. I got permanent streaks in my hair, the different colours standing out boldly and to make the colours work better, I'd dyed the rest of it a rich chocolate brown. I wore different style clothing every day, never wearing the same thing twice and some days, I looked pretty hot. Enough so to draw the attention of people around me. One time, Michaela had come over to my place for a slumber party and had insisted on picking out my outfit for school.

She'd ending up choosing a pair of ripped skinny jeans, a black crop top with long fishnet sleeves, a pair of black stiletto heels and made me let her do my makeup. Unfortunately, that meant no glitter or bright crazy colours however Michaela did bend a little and let me take my hot pink furry backpack and I added a touch of glitter at the corner of my eyes. What can I say? If I don't sparkle then I'm not me. Needless to say when I'd walked in that day beside Michaela who always looked like a Runway model, more than a few heads turned.

The entire school was talking about the fact that Michaela was now dating Sam Witwicky. Sam Witwicky, the weirdo, the nerd, the one no one really knew about, the guy who sucked at sports and had zero socialising skills to speak of. It flummoxed everybody but to her credit, Michaela never backed down or backtracked, she stuck with him and held her head up high with pride. High school was hard enough without the jocks and bullies making it worse and I seemed to spend most of my time defending Sam from them, especially Trent. He made it almost impossible to eat lunch in peace so eventually the three of us simply head out to eat, though when he started following us, it became even more annoying.

"Seriously? This guy just doesn't seem to take a hint." I exhaled as I looked in the rear view mirror to see Trent and his big flashy truck following behind us. Of course usually I rode with Jazz, however we had already arranged to switch cars today in order to lose him, which meant I was with Bee whilst Sam and Michaela took Jazz. We were together so often anyway, it hardly made a difference which guardian was with which human. "You ready for some kickass driving Bee?"

"Ready and waiting." He responded with an edge of anticipation to his voice, making me laugh before I kicked up the gears and hit the gas. I jerked to the right, peeling away from Jazz and instantly Trent took the bait, following after me which left Sam and Michaela in the clear. Bumblebee and I expertly manoeuvred our way through the traffic, increasing our speed to overtake with Trent struggling to get his larger car through.

"Aw come on, this isn't any fun if the person chasing us sucks at driving. I almost miss being chased down by Decepticons, at least they knew how to keep you on your toes." The radio beeped and whirred in answer and I chuckled in response, patting the dashboard affectionately. "Don't worry Bumblebee, those days are well behind us so don't be alarmed." The radio flickered through a few stations before finally landing in an adrenaline pumping song, perfect for a highway chase. We taunted Trent for a while, taking him all the way into town and turning a few tight corners, doubling back and going around him so that each time he stopped with a puzzled look on his face, we would streak out of hiding and he'd chase after the bright yellow of Bee's paintwork like a bull made to charge.

After I was certain that we'd solidly gotten Trent off of Sam and Michaela's trail, I pulled in at a rest stop and had Bee switch off to cool down for a while. This heat was bad enough, I didn't want him getting exhausted by it. A few seconds later Trent screeched to a halt then reversed, blocking the entrance way with his car before he came storming out, slamming the car door. "Remember Bee, don't do anything a normal car wouldn't do, alright? Stay out of sight no matter what happens."

 _"Rodger that_." Bee blipped before going totally silent. Getting out the car I turned around to face Trent, a knowing smirk on my face as he stopped short and stared at me.

"Any reason why you've been tailing me all across town? You know, stalking isn't legal and it's downright creepy Trent. Maybe you should go get your head examined, too many blows to the head can make you do weird things and to be honest, you've taken far too many in that stupid ball game of yours."

"It's called football you dumbass." He retorted snappily as he closed the distance between us and looked down on me with his huge folded arms in an attempt to intimidate me. You know, after facing down several giant alien robots that wanted to blow me to pieces, Trent just didn't seem that scary anymore. In fact, he looked miniscule to me. "Where are they? I know you know so you might as well tell me."

"Tsk, a girl never tells. Too bad for you, looks like you lose today. Maybe next time you won't be so gullible, I mean come on. Did you really expect them to just parade around in a bright yellow car forever just to make it easier for you to follow them? Maybe I should just report you to the principal, this has to be harassment." I wasn't too sure about how this conversation was going to end but I was doing my best not to goad Trent too much and end this peacefully, though I still suck at controlling my sarcasm and that seemed to be my downfall.

Trent snarled and hammered a fist down on top of Bee's roof, causing me to suddenly grow incredibly quiet and cold inside. A surge of protectiveness flared up inside me as Trent continued to spout off threats and insults, practically spitting in my face however when he went to strike Bumblebee again my hand jerked forwards and punched him in the throat, causing him to choke and fall to his knees, turning a deep purplish red. "Don't ever hurt my car again." I don't what came over me, I mean this wasn't even _my_ car, but I still felt fiercely defensive and overprotective as this wasn't just any car. This was Bumblebee and I considered him a friend. I don't take kindly to people hitting my friends, metal or not.

I left Trent recovering his breath at the rest stop, climbing back into the seat and drove away with a large satisfaction in the knowledge that I'd just taken out one of the most feared guys at our school. Small victories were the best though I was a little disappointed that no one except Bumblebee had witnessed my triumph. "You okay Bee? He didn't hurt you did he?"

"No, I didn't even feel a thing. Don't worry about me in cases like that, Helen, you should worry only about yourself and your own safety. Since Optimus placed both you, Sam and Michaela under our protection, it is my duty to always ensure your safety." He said to me however when he tried to talk more his voice guttered out so he switched to the radio and I listened to snippets of voices and songs, piecing together his words and carried on conversing like that. Similarly to Jazz I found it easy to talk with Bumblebee. The two were very different but I could relax in their company. Whereas Jazz made me laugh and smile, with Bee I felt safe and secure, like I could close my eyes and I knew I wouldn't have to worry about anything because he'd be there with me.

This was my family now and I was proud of it. Those last days at high school came and went in a blur, the weeks passing by until it was prom and I went with Sam and Michaela though I refused all the guys who asked me to go with them. I wasn't much for tradition, so of course I showed up in a dress with a heart shaped neckline, flared skirt of neon coloured tulle built up in layers with a longer train at the back and a large petticoat underneath just to make it flare more. I had glitter and sequin gems all down my arms, my shoulders, up my neck and crowning my face with intense colourful makeup of all the colours of the rainbow, my hair done up in a bun with fairy lights. I wanted to be as wild and whacky as I could and when I entered the hall and stood on the stairs to descend inside, everybody turned and applauded my entrance like I was some celebrity.

It's funny, the clothes that people had once ridiculed me for made me popular in the end, one of the most popular and well known girls in the school. Everybody knew who I was, some even tried to copy me however nobody could pull of the looks I went for quite like I could. To me there were no limits and as I descended the stairs in my highest platform boots and my hair twinkling with little glowing lights I stuck my middle finger up at everyone, earning a chorus of laughter. People had expected me to show up in something unorthodox and I did not disappoint. Everybody wanted their picture taken with me until I became something of an idol.

In fact, I rather enjoyed it. I only bought one photo, however. The one where Sam, Michaela and I stood together and stood under the archway with our graduating year painted upon the banner with cheap balloons and confetti flying everywhere. I didn't really stay long at prom, it wasn't really my thing but I stayed long enough to enjoy a few dances with my friends, witness one of the popular cheerleader bitches and her jock boyfriend be named prom king and queen, had a couple of drinks of alcoholic punch which some of the other students had kindly arranged for us, sneaking in the alcohol and pouring it in without the teachers seeing, then left.

Sam and Michaela stayed longer, spending the rest of prom together and I didn't like to be a third wheel in their relationship, I'd come to terms with the fact that I now had to share my best friend and actually, it usually ended up with me having to share Michaela with Sam. I don't know how, but we'd become really good friends. Better friends than I'd ever thought and when I found out that Michaela liked the same foods as me as well as music, cars and even liked the same movies, we just hit it off and didn't stop there.

"What a _beautiful_ night, am I right Jazz-man?" I giggled as I tottered over to him, a little light headed and giddy from the drink which also made me a little clumsy, evident with how I practically crashed into him. "Wow, what a night. I mean, whoever thought that I would actually have _fun_ at something like _that_ , I can't even dance!"

"What's up with you? You're acting all weird cherry."

"M'okay, just a little tipsy." I whispered to him loudly as I tugged off my shoes and groaned. "Ugh! Why do I put myself through this torture? I mean, sure my shoes are gorgeous but they _hurt_ a lot! Anyway Jazzy, do you mind taking me for a drive? I wanna clear my head a bit and I don't wanna go home." I asked him as I practically fell into the car, a mass of tulle and ruffles which I patted down until I was comfortable.

"Where too 'lil cherry? Anywhere?" I hummed in agreement, gazing out the window with my chin on my palm. Jazz started up his engines and we glided out of the school car park and away into the night. The air did me good and soon enough I was able to think clearly and walk in a straight line. I was glad that Jazz had brought me to my special place overlooking the town which was outlined with the bright moon, turning the buildings into polished glass. "How you feeling now? That world web of yours says that human adolescents such as yourself sometimes get intoxicated at social events. You're not gonna start throwing up in my interior are you?"

"Don't worry about that Jazz, I'm not drunk. I feel fine." I assured him as I got out then climbed up onto the hood so that I could lay back against him and gaze up at the sky. "Hey Jazz, do you miss your home?"

"Don't really think about it much. There's not much use in missing something you can't have, I like to focus on the here and now. You planet is pretty cool, it's got things we never even thought about before, and I totally dig the music." I chuckled softly, smiling at his enthusiasm for our urban culture. "Why you ask?"

"No reason. It's just that I have a memory of a place that isn't my home, but I can still feel myself yearning for it. Missing it. I guess it's just to do with the bond thing, I still haven't got used to that." Instinctively my hand rose up and rested over my chest, feeling that now familiar warmth there as it thrummed against my fingertips. "Sometimes it's like he's standing right here next to me, other times it's like he's as far away as can be. I miss him. I worry about him. I'm starting to feel connected to him on a whole new level. Hell, I think I even feel love towards him." Turning over onto my side I curled up slightly and placed my hand against the smooth glass of the windshield. "I'm guessing this is what it's like to have a dad you actually feel connected to. I don't know what it is with my parents, but it's like there not even there. I don't even particularly feel anything towards them, like they're just parts of my imagination which crop up occasionally." Pausing for a while I smiled weakly. "Sorry, you don't have to listen to me drone on and on. You can switch off any time you like."

"No need cherry. Sounds like you got a lot on your mind so lay it on me. Maybe it'll make you feel better. As for the boss, don't worry about him. Like I said before he's the best of us there is and he's not going to go down so easily. He'll be back before you know it and if you need his help at all, I know he'll come running. You might not get it now, but to him you're nothing less than his sparkling. That's a pretty serious thing you got going there."

"I know. I do understand. It's just I still have trouble believing it." I murmured before shivering a little. "It's getting cold so I'm coming inside. Heads up, girl in a massive tutu coming through."


	11. Chapter 11

After graduation I was glad to be free for the summer months and I had already planned everything I was going to do. Sam and Michaela were going to spend their time together and Sam's parents were also taking him on vacation so I decided that I wanted to go on a road trip. Coast to coast. Bumblebee was going to go with Sam and Michaela which left me with Jazz. To be honest, the least amount of time I could spend at home, the better. I packed up everything I needed into the trunk, not really having any real idea about where I was going first so I brought a tent, some non-perishable food, blankets, flashlights, books, camera and anything else I thought I would need.

I could tell Jazz was excited for our little trip as he was already playing tunes through the radio and singing along, making me laugh as I loaded up the back. Since he was a small car we couldn't fit much in but I was travelling light anyway so it didn't really matter. I made sure I had pillows and things to sleep comfortably wherever we might end up then armed myself with a cup of coffee and a map. "You ready for this cherry! I wanna go to Las Vegas, you humans say it's the place to really kick it!"

"We'll go anywhere and everywhere Jazz I promised, don't get your tyres in a twist." I patted the hood as I walked around, checking off my list. "You sure you won't need anything on the road? Engine oil, water, nothing?"

"Nope, don't even need gas which makes things cheap. If you're all done loading up then let's hit the road!" Laughing effortlessly I slid into the driver's seat then with Jazz's unbound enthusiasm we sped out of my parent's estate and with the map spread out on my lap I guided Jazz in the right direction to begin our summer road trip. The freedom was greatly welcomed and with my future already set with college, my degree and a whole world of possibilities out there ready for me to seize and it wasn't too bad that I had a kickass guardian to watch my back.

Jazz seemed to love the open road, pushing the speed limits as we drove through towns and cities then out further west to reach the ocean. The moment we reached the beach I got out and took off my shoes to bound into the surf and sand. Jazz stayed put for a while, scanning the area before transforming, assured that there was no one around to see. It was late at night, almost early morning so I reasoned that it was unlikely that we would be seen however Jazz put one foot in the sand before hastily back tracking. "No way! If I go into that liquid death trap I'll rust away all my good looks and I'll be washing this grainy stuff out of my circuits for three whole cycles!" He exclaimed, making me laugh as I paddled in the water.

"You big baby. Alright then, if you're not going to come in then suit yourself but trust me, nothing beats a walk in the surf."

"Ugh, I already got this sand stuff in my foot, it doesn't come off!" Jazz hopped around trying to shake off the sand, amusing me to no end. "I'll be choking on this stuff through my radiator at this rate." As Jazz continued to grumble I soothed him by promising to clean off the sand properly in a bit. For the time being I walked in the ocean and admired the way the waves glimmered under the slim crescent moonlight. It was peaceful here, the gentle rush of water lapping against the sand creating a scene of sereneness that could not be equalled. "Yo cherry, how about you help me get this stuff off me now?" Jazz called over so I turned and head back towards him.

"You're such a big baby, all this fuss over a little bit of sand. Come on then, give me some light and I'll see what I can do." I teased him affectionately as I made him lift his foot as I grabbed a towel from the stuff he'd deposited out of his trunk. With the brightness of his headlights shining down I did my best to brush off the sand, splashing him with some water also until he was pretty much all clear. "There, all done."

"You're a life saver cherry."

"Happy to help. We should probably get some sleep since we've been driving all day and we got plenty more to do tomorrow. From here we can make our way to Vegas no problem then head east. I'd like to stop at a national park for some hiking if that's okay and it'll be a perfect place for you too because we can easily disappear into the woods and not be discovered." I told him all about the states and places I wanted to visit, wondering how we would manage to fit everything in during one vacation. "This isn't going to tire you out right? I feel a little bad making you do all the leg work for me."

"It ain't a problem and I won't get tired so don't worry about me cherry. It makes you happy so I'm fine with it and besides, you ain't exactly bad company. Better than old 'Hide and his cannons." Giggling softly I began setting up my tent, easily having it upright in moments having done it a hundred times before. "You gonna be comfortable in this thing? It looks like it'll fly away with one breeze."

"It's sturdier than it looks and I've got some rocks at the corners to way it down since I can't pin it to the ground and the sand will shape to my body, so it'll be like sleeping on a mattress." Although I'd suggested that we went to sleep the both of us stayed up a while longer to talk about what we wanted to see most and plans for the future. Sam had been practically given a place at college and I had been accepted into several others, including Harvard. I wasn't sure yet which one I was going to pick but with how things have been, I was tempted to go with Sam just so that I could keep an eye on him and he'd already said he'd be happy if I went to the same college as him.

We were both now heavily interested in space, physics and astronomy considering the influence and experiences we've had, so it made sense that we'd pursue such a career. Not only that but the government had offered to pay for our tuitions totally free of charge and I was not going to turn that down. I had no guarantee that my parents were going to support me so I took the opportunity to get a good start in life without being worried about debts. "Yo, you still awake in there?"

"Yeah I'm awake. I was just thinking about college."

"Oh that. Sounds like a waste of time if you ask me, didn't you already go to school to learn?" I smiled to myself at Jazz's bluntness.

"Going to college means getting proper qualifications then a better job later. It's kind of necessary for me if I want to escape my parents." I explained to him and when I put it like that Jazz heartily agreed. I think Jazz was secretly excited to go and experience more of what it meant to be human and to be honest, I don't think I want to go anywhere without him but eventually, I'm going to have to let him go. Optimus will need him at some point and Jazz will have to go immediately, maybe without the chance to even say goodbye. It was saddening to think that I might be on borrowed time with Jazz, but that only made me more determined to enjoy myself whilst with him. So with that in mind, I slept with a strong desire to see as much of the country I could, from national parks to the Grand Canyon. Nothing was too big or too small or too far. With Jazz, it felt like everything was within my reach.


	12. Chapter 12

Coming back home was somewhat bittersweet. I was glad for familiar sights, now a little more world wise. For the past two years every summer I went travelling across America, Canada and Mexico with Jazz. We've been everywhere together and I can quite honestly say that he was one of my best friends in the entire world along with Bumblebee, Michaela and Sam. Jazz had been the greatest travel companion I could have hoped for, nothing ever got him down or discouraged him and he always had my back. I think he still wanted to try out a proper Las Vegas casino but other than that, we had had the greatest time. When we pulled up outside of Sam's house, I leaned back for a moment or so just to relax. "Everything okay cherry?"

"It feels weird being home. Weirder still knowing that we've been all over America and now that we're back in this little town, I'm all the more aware of how small it is. How small I am. It's different for you, considering you're a giant robot from outer space." I said to him with a smile. "Thank you for being there with me Jazz. I had the best time of my life and it's all thanks to you."

"No sweat, so long as it made you happy then that's all that matters. You gonna go on inside? I need to catch up with my boy Bee." Jazz prompted so I grabbed all my souvenirs and stepped out the car but not before I leaned against the frame and rested my head on the roof.

"Love you Jazz."

"Love you too 'lil cherry. I'll be back in a while but call if you need anything or if something happens, even if it's nothing." Jazz answered before his radio flickered off and he signalled to Bumblebee who instantly came rushing out of the garage with a purr of his engine. Smiling I turned around and walked over to him, giving him a hug too without caring as to how I must have looked to any stranger passing by.

"Hey there Bee, I sure missed you. How you been holding up?" Bumblebee gave a quick purr as his radio switched on, glowing with a soft light as he spoke through the stations and songs, telling me that he was fine and that he'd missed me too as well as promising to ask me all about my trip in the morning. "Sounds good, you take care now and try not to get into any trouble. I know what you two are like and if I see you guys on the news again getting chased by cops, I will put clamps on all of your wheels." I warned him and he answered with a terrified scream, causing a smile to break across my face. "I'll see you in the morning Bumblebee." Patting his hood I turned around and went into the house where Judy instantly screamed and rushed to me in excitement.

"Oh my god look at you! It feels like we haven't seen you in forever! Ron look at Helen, isn't she more beautiful than before? Sam? Sammy! Sammy Helen's back!" Judy fussed over me like I had been gone for years, noting my tanned complexion and doting on the little freckles that spattered across my nose and cheeks as Sam came tumbling down the stairs in haste.

"Hel!"

"Hey there cowboy, hope you haven't been finding any more trouble." I said to him with a grin as we naturally embraced one another. He was exactly the same, he wasn't any different to how I'd last seen him. He hadn't even got himself a tan like I had. My bronzed skin practically glowed in the warm kitchen light as Ron came through and greeted me with a warm smile, welcoming me back home and ordering Sam to go get me a drink and something to eat before Judy fussed that she would do it because she knew exactly what I would want. It felt wonderful coming back home to a welcome like this, where everybody asked how I was and wanted to know everything I had done and seen and thanked me as I handed out presents. I had bought so many that I'd almost struggled to fit them into Jazz's trunk but he fixed that easily by simply upgrading his model, even changing up the body paint to become a bright white.

It was easy enough for him to scan another Porsche as we passed by many during our travels and voila, brand new car. With Judy still happily unwrapping her numerous gifts we all sat in their lounge with a spread of food which I was munching my way through as my stomach rumbled and I listened to Ron and Sam argue over miniscule details of their trip with Michaela. It sure was good to be home and I was relieved to find that the guest bedroom was still made up for me with all my stuff inside, untouched. All my clothes remained neatly arranged just as I had left them and my books stacked on the shelves in alphabetical order.

To be honest, I was happier here than in my other room back at my parent's house. This room was completely me, decorated and adorned as I wanted with sparkly drapes and fluffy rugs. Judy had let me do whatever I wanted with this room, telling me when I was fourteen that it was mine to use whenever I liked. I always had a home here and that meant more to me than anything else in the world. My parents hadn't even noticed I was gone. Yeah. This was home. It will always be home. Nothing will ever change that.

Sleeping in my own bed was a wonder after travelling for so long and when I woke up to the smell of bacon and pancakes, I felt like I was in heaven. Of course when I wandered down to breakfast, Judy was singing away cooking up all the family favourites. "Morning sweetie! You want scrambled eggs with your bacon?"

"Yes please Mrs Judy, that'd be wonderful." I accepted readily, already pouring myself some orange juice and making the coffee before helping out with everything. I took over with the pancakes so that Judy could take care of the eggs and just as we were finishing up, Ron came down and then after that, Sam.

"How come we only get breakfasts like this when Helen comes home?" Sam asked as he hastily dug in but before he could grab the bacon his mom slapped his hand with a spatula.

"Because Helen is a girl who needs feeding up and it's good manners to always make someone feel welcome in your home, now wait until we're all sitting down before you start grabbing away at everything." She chided him and I gave him a grin as he complained but waited nonetheless. Judy joined us at last, making us sit for grace before we then all tucked in. Ron wasn't much of a conversationalist in the morning, reading his paper and eating some muffins with a strong cup of coffee to wake himself up.

"So what's the plan for you kids? Any hip place you want to see? Parties? Going out there and living the dream?" Judy asked in her bright and motherly curious tone which made Sam almost choke on his food so I gave him a hearty slap.

"Nothing planned as of yet Mrs Judy no, I figured since I just got back we could just hang out at home for a while and maybe do some shopping either tomorrow or some other time to get stuff we're going to need for college." I reasoned and Judy instantly agreed it was a good idea so we spent breakfast making a list of all the things we were going to need until we had a rather comprehensive list complete with all the books, materials and items that Judy insisted we would need, including our own coffee makers. Actually, that might not be a bad idea because if the campus coffee sucked then that would be a problem. Sam disliked the idea of going shopping all day but when I warned him that I would be taking charge of his wardrobe choices if he didn't come he quickly agreed to tag along. Judy was a little jumpy about taking a ride in Bumblebee so I offered to take her in Jazz, though I didn't tell her that he was also an autobot.

Sam followed along behind us and once we were in town, Judy took charge. "Okay come on! Hurry up Sammy we got a lot to do today and not a lot of time. I need to go to the dry cleaner's to pick up your dad's suit and also we need to find a few things for the house as well as paint and new curtains to put up in your room." She listed, carrying her long list proudly as Sam groaned, dreading this day. I kind of wish I hadn't said anything to Judy as this meant we'd be spending all day going around all the shops and my feet are going to be killing me after this. At least I carried a pair of sneakers in the car with me at all times now.

"Hey Jazz, Bumblebee, I want you guys to just stay put here okay?" I said to them as Sam tried to negotiate with his mother as I switched my heels for more sensible shoes. "I'll keep in touch with the comm. link in case something happens but otherwise, don't draw attention to yourselves, got it?"

"You got it cherry, don't worry. We'll be chilling here when you get back."

" _We'll be quite as little mice…won't even know we were here."_ Bumblebee assured me so I patted his hood affectionately.

"Hey, since it's nice out, maybe tomorrow I'll give you both a fresh polish and wax. Sound good?" Both cars honked their horns and flashed their lights at me in anticipation, earning a steady laugh as I quickly trotted after Sam and Judy, ready to brave the long day of endless shopping.


	13. Chapter 13

The Witwicky house was all in an uproar with the day finally having come that Sam and I were moving into college. It had been two years since Mission City and having finally finished with high school, I was ready to move on. I'd already taken Jazz up with all my stuff a few days before and moved in and suffice to say, I already loved it there. Sure I was sharing with another girl who had no sense of self-expression and was as nerdy as you could get but she was fine enough and I wasn't going to complain, it could have been worse. I mean, it was Princeton. How could I complain about anything?

It had taken a long time to drive up there with Jazz but we figured it was just like another road trip and since he didn't need much rest or even me to drive, we'd done it in two days, now Ron and Judy were preparing to do the same journey and I was going with them with a few of Sam's things in the back as it turned out he had a lot more stuff than I did. Though that being said, if I brought along all my clothes then I'd probably have to rent out three or four rooms just to accommodate them all. I'd sold off some of my things, donating and giving away the rest to leave me with a much more condensed choice. It had been hard to downsize, but it had been necessary and to be honest, most of those clothes I simply kept for nostalgia's sake. I didn't even fit some of them.

My shoes all came with me and they stacked up in several boxes against a whole wall with all my books as well, though the ones I hadn't taken with me I'd moved into Sam's room, taking over the storage space ready to be put in the attic when his parents come back from France. "Come on, let's go! All hands on deck! Frankie, Mojo, out. Come on, kiddo, we're on a schedule." Ron yelled as he came hurrying down the stairs and quickly dumped a box of Sam's things into my arms. "Take that to the car would you Helen? Thanks kid." I almost collapsed under the weight, staggering until I'd got a better grip.

"Sure thing Mr Ron, I got it." I agreed, turning and slowly making my way out to the car as Sam came down after him with more stuff.

"Slow down, Dad. Why are you in such a hurry to get rid of me? Did you rent the room out?"

"No, I got other ideas for your room and it rhymes with 'home theatre'." Ron informed him honestly, making me grin as I started to pack up his car, sliding the boxes and carefully arranging things to fit in as much as we could. Inside I heard Judy crying, fawning over Sam who tried to keep her calm. She'd been crying all morning and didn't show any signs of stopping. I felt for her, it must be hard to let go of your son who's now all grown up and heading off to college. I'd promised her time and time again that Sam would be fine with me looking out for him, though it hardly consoled her. Heading back inside for the next few boxes I caught onto the conversation between Sam and his parents.

"You have to come home every holiday, not just big ones. You have to come home for Halloween." Judy was insisting as she clung onto Sam with tears running down her face.

"Well, I can't come home for Halloween, mom."

"Well, then we'll come to you. We'll dress up, we'll be in costumes so you'll never know it's us." She reasoned and I gave a smile. Knowing Judy she would absolutely carry through with this threat, she was just the right level of crazy that flying back and forth across the states would not phase her one bit.

"You can't do that, mom."

"Would you let the kid breathe, for crying out loud? Come on. Go pack." Ron pulled Judy away from Sam and directed her towards the stairs, still rather impatient to get going. "There's no way you're packed for a month-long trip. Come on, chop, chop let's go. March, young lady." Both Sam and I looked away uncomfortably as Ron gave Judy a rather urgent smack so I hurriedly grabbed another box and brought it out to the car.

Wiping my brow I checked the time on my watch then turned around, heading into the garage where Bumblebee was parked away. "Hey big guy, we're almost done so we should be heading off soon." I said to him and the moment he heart my voice his lights flashed at me and his door opened up to invite me inside.

" _We're on the highway to hell! We're on the highway to hell!"_ He sang at me, making me smile.

"Well that's one way to look at it I suppose. I hear college is like high school only it's much worse because we're technically legal adults, which means a whole lot of alcohol, drugs and other illegal stuff. Guess we'll just have to wait and see, am I right buddy?"

 _"You worry too much…everything's gonna be okay…we'll be with you all the way…"_ Bee told me through his radio.

"You're sweet and you're right. Guess I just keep on expecting something to go wrong or for another alien war to break out. In any case, I'm glad you and Jazz are coming with us. Sam is bringing you along, right? I know freshers aren't supposed to bring their own cars but I pulled a few strings and we should be okay. I'm really excited about this, the next big adventure." I babbled on whilst sitting inside the comfortable interior. "Listen to me ramble on, you've heard it all before many times I bet."

" _I don't mind…listening to you…you can talk as much as you like…I'll never get tired."_

"Aw Bee, you're the best." Running my hand across the dashboard to convey my affection I gave a soft sigh and rested my head back, tapping at the disco ball that hung from the mirror. "Bee? Did I ever thank you before? For saving our lives that time with the cop car, Barricade. See I don't think I did and I'm pretty sure I wasn't really nice to you at first. I'm sorry about that and thank you for everything you did, I know that you didn't have to come back for me but you did anyway."

 _"We leave no man behind!"_ Grinning I turned my head and curled up a little to get more comfortable, my thumb brushing over the leather of the seat I was perched on.

"I owe you, big guy." I told him softly before giving a long exhale. "Hey, you're getting pretty good at talking with your radio now, do you just find everything online and channel it like that?" I got an affirmative on that note so I challenged Bee to answering as many questions as he could without breaking pace and it actually became quite a cool game. Anything he could find out through the internet he used to answer until I was starting to struggle to come up with questions. "Okay, okay! I concede defeat, you got me good Bee." He started to play a victory song so I laughed and swatted at the wheel. "I better go back and help finish up. I'll see you real soon Bumblebee." Getting out of the car I started to leave but I stopped and turned around, fidgeting at my shirt a little nervously. "Hey Bee, what do you think of my new style? Do I look okay?"

Bee whirred in answer as if considering. I'd returned to my natural redhead though I'd cut my hair so that it came down to my neck in a straight bob with my bangs parted down the middle and my hair slightly longer in the front. I wore casual jeans with black leather boots studded with rhinestones, a plain shirt matched with a smarter slim fitting jacket suit, chunky necklace and a black choker as well to complete the look. Moving away from my usual wild colours, I'd gone for natural tones though I had used bronze and gold for my eye makeup. I wasn't even wearing any glitter which made me feel a little nude, if I'm honest, but I wanted to make a good first impression at college before I allowed myself to go more wild with my appearance. It was Princeton after all and I wanted to be on the tutors' good side.

 _"You're beautiful, you're beautiful it's true. When I saw your face, in a crowded place…_ " Bee chanted and I actually blushed, touching my hair and tucking it behind my ear as I smiled.

"Thanks Bee, you're the best." I said, pausing a moment more before I walked back over, leaned over then placed a quick kiss on his hood. "Love you loads big guy." Giving a final wave I head out of the garage and helped Ron put the final things in his car so that we were all packed up and ready to leave, however when I heard Sam's panicked and high pitched shrieking hit my ears I froze in place.

"There's a fire! Dad, we got a fire!" Before Ron had even responded I was already racing inside, diving into the house and moving straight towards where I could hear Sam. "Fire!" Feet pounding up the stairs I swung myself around the corner to make for Sam's room however when I saw an infestation of kitchen appliances in the form of little Decepticon robots, my jaw dropped and I let out a panicked yell. The sound unfortunately drew attention to me so I bolted, crashing down the stairs as several of them came after me with bullets firing in pursuit.

"What the hell is happening? Sam? Sammy!" A mini missile was fired at my back so I ducked behind the couch, crawling forwards as those ugly little monsters yelled and sneered, coming after me with more gunfire so I head for the garden and quickly found cover as a whole load of them came pouring out of the house.

"Bumblebee!" Sam yelled and with a rev of his engine Bumblebee came crashing out of the garage and transformed in a heartbeat, Jazz also roaring out the front however I quickly pressed a finger to my earpiece.

"Hold it Jazz, let Bee take care of this!"

"What the heck is happening back there cherry? It sounds like something crazy is going on!"

"Well, that's one word for it." When one of the kitchen appliances suddenly appeared above me I shrieked and tried to escape however I suddenly had a wire lassooed around my ankles which tripped me up and I landed flat on my stomach, struggling to break free as I rolled onto the grass and that creature jumped on top of me and pelted me with rather painful bullets which felt like pellets from an air rifle or something. In any case, they hurt but didn't actually penetrate my skin but as the Decepticon gremlin thing crawled all over me and I panicked, the heat in my chest suddenly flared into life and before I knew it, I'd gripped it with both hands and with a single tug, ripped it off of me. "Bee!"

Whirling around Bumblebee fired, destroying the thing which had tried to turn me into a pincushion and I think it was the toaster. That's going to put me off for a while. In all the rush and panic, it was strange to suddenly hear quiet until I realised that there were sirens in the distance and they were getting closer. "Bumblebee! Get in the garage. Go!" Sam ordered so I picked myself up and dusted myself off, taking in deep breaths as I looked around at the wreckage. "I'm about to have a nervous breakdown, so just go in the garage quietly, please." I can't believe it, where the hell did these come from? Even worse, Bumblebee had blown up part of the house. Namely, Sam's room. I am so glad we'd already moved my books out of there to make way for other things. "Get in the garage now!"

"Bee it's okay, we're fine and we'll take care of this, but you have to hide." I shook myself off and helped Sam conceal Bee, gripping onto his arm securely. "Whatever just happened, you had better explain everything to me on the road. I got to take care of Jazz, he's freaking out." I said to him before letting go and hurrying away just as Michaela arrived. "Michaela! I thought you and Sam broke up?" I frowned in confusion, puzzled at why she was here but still glad to see her.

"Well he kind of talked me out of it, what happened here?"

"Mini Decepticons, kitchen appliances, Bumblebee blowing up the house. Feels just like old times." I shrugged before hurrying past her to Jazz who was threatening to break through the fence and find out what was going on himself. "Okay! I'm here I'm here, I'm fine, see? Nothing to worry about." I reassured him as I dived inside and rolled up the windows so that no one would hear us and I put my phone to my ear to make it look like I was having a conversation and not just talking to my car. "I'm not sure where they came from but Sam's kitchen suddenly turned into a baby Decepticon breeding ground and they were everywhere."

"What the…Primus, I better tell the boss what happened. I already got him radioing in saying he felt something was wrong and that you were in trouble."

"Yeah, I felt that. My chest got super-hot and when one of the Decepticons touched me so I threw it off me. Lucky they weren't regular sized otherwise we would be in serious trouble, they only left a few bruises."

"Bruises! I'm supposed to protecting you cherry, what's the boss gonna say when he learns I ain't taking care of you right?" It took a while to reassure Jazz that I was fine and that there was nothing to worry about and everything was being taken care of, but by that time Sam and Michaela had said their goodbyes and the final things were being loaded up.

"Hey Hel, we're almost done here so we'll be going soon. Apparently the government are gonna take care of the house, so we don't need to get involved."

"Get involved? Sam and still haven't told me what happened. Now you are going to tell me everything or I am not going to be lenient with my punishment." I ordered him firmly so he jolted violently at my as I got out of Jazz and dragged him away so that we could talk privately without anyone listening. "Where did those creepy little things come from and please tell me I am not going crazy and I was actually attacked by the toaster."

"Actually I think it was the microwave." Sam supplied unhelpfully so after gulping nervously he told me about the All Spark shard which had got stuck on his clothes and had burned through the house before then bringing all the kitchen appliances to life. I was stunned and completely flummoxed that Sam hadn't noticed a piece of the Cube literally stuck on is jacket but then again, this was Sam. "SO Michaela is going to take it, she's going to put it away and then we are never going to speak of it again. At least until we know what's going on." Sam finished and I drank it all in for a moment, holding up a finger to keep him silent before then speaking.

"Are you crazy? We need to give that thing over to Jazz and Bumblebee right now so they can protect it! I don't know about you but with all the machines there are just lying around, _especially_ at Michaela's dad's _garage_ where he keeps all his cars, tools and bikes, I think maybe we might have a teeny weenie bit of a problem!" I relented onto him and we argued for a few moments until finally I agreed that Michaela could keep it safe so long as no one knew where it was. At least for now. With all this Decepticon activity going on it made me uneasy but with the Autobots so busy, it wasn't a good idea to distract them.

"And Helen? I'm not taking Bee with me." Sam suddenly announced as I started to walk towards Jazz, making me halt and spin back around, a silent stare of surprise on my face. "I want to be normal again and having Bee close by just isn't going to work. Helen, they're not our cars. They are giant robots that can transform and they are going to start suffocating if we keep them like this, you understand?"

"But…but I love having Jazz with me. We're friends. I don't want him to leave." I was so taken off guard that I could barely even string a thought sentence together. I mean sure, I didn't think that Bumblebee and Jazz were going to be with us forever but I never really considered when they would leave. They both chose to remain behind to be our guardians, but maybe we'd kind of given them no choice? Did they feel obligated to stay?

"Just give it some thought Hel. They should be out there catching the bad guys, not babysitting a couple of freshmen like us." Sam said to me, giving my shoulder a comforting squeeze of understanding. I stood alone for a few seconds before I turned around and made my way back to Jazz. There was still time as Ron was giving his statement to the police and firemen about what had happened, but I doubt we'd be sticking around for long. I have to ask him, I need to do this now.

"Hey Jazz, do you feel like I'm suffocating you?" I asked him as I opened the door but perched in the seat, leaving it open for some fresh air to breeze through.

"What the-? Where'd that come from cherry?"

"Sam is leaving Bumblebee behind so that he can go join up with Optimus and the others again. I was wondering if you wanted to go with him." I explained and Jazz suddenly fell deadly quiet so I pushed forwards, trying to organised my panicked and scattered thoughts. "I mean, it makes sense really. More Decepticons have been spotted recently and your talents are pretty wasted on a couple of kids like us, you guys should be protecting your friends. Your family, right?"

"Helen. My job is to protect you. That is my mission, nothing else matters." Jazz told me in a rather deadly tone so I desperately tried to hold myself together but the emotion was swelling in my throat, making it difficult to talk against the dryness and the large lump that kept on growing.

"But that's exactly my point! You were ordered to stay and I was cool with that but I never actually asked you what _you_ wanted. Jazz, I love you like crazy, you're are my closest friend and in some cases, even closer because I'm more open and honest with you. The thing is though, you're still an autobot and right now, me keeping you from your team is just me being selfish. I don't want you to go, I'd like it if you'd stay with me forever, but I have to face the facts. I don't need protecting from a threat that doesn't exist, the Decepticons aren't coming after us, why would they? We're just humans. If anything they're going to try coming after you and Bee because you would be without backup and that puts you at risk and I don't want either of you to get hurt, I wish this would all just _stop_ and we can just have our lives back, but that can't happen with those monsters out there!"

Gasping for air I stopped my rant and when I focused, I realised that I was crying so I lifted a hand and pressed the heel of my palm to my face, trying not to make it so obvious how much this was hurting. "Well cherry, looks like you said all you needed." Jazz spoke at me harshly and I felt a slight vibration throughout the car, as if he were trembling in anger. "If I'm not needed then I guess you better find your own way from now on. I'll be sure to tell the boss you don't want anything more to do with us."

"Come on Jazz it's not like that, of course I want to see you again. I just…I don't know, I'm trying to do what's right. You deserve way better than being stuck on babysitter duty, you're Optimus's second in command. He needs you, I can feel it." This wasn't a lie. These past two years I had felt the bond with Optimus deepen to the point where sometimes we were able to communicate between ourselves without the aid of radio or anything like that, we could just empathise with one another's thoughts and feelings and we had learned to speak to one another through it. "Jazz?"

"Better hurry or you'll be left behind. I got a long way to go so I'm gonna hit the road. See ya around, femme." Jazz suddenly roared his engines and I leaped forwards as he ripped out of the driveway, ejecting everything out of his trunk then drove away at breakneck speed before I could even call out to him. I was left there standing alone with a pile of suitcases at my feet. So lost in hurt and upset I almost didn't hear Bumblebee behind me until the horn sounded and I jerked my head to twist and see him.

"Bee…Bee I'm sorry. I didn't mean…I didn't want…man this is so messed up." I whispered as I gripped my face, turning to face him and placed my hands on his hood. "Will you look after him for me please? Make sure he doesn't get into trouble, I'm already worried about him."

" _Lean on me, when you're not strong…And I'll be your friend…I'll help you carry on._ " Bumblebee sang to me and I managed a weak smile through my tears, sniffing slightly as I rubbed them away.

"Bill Withers, nice touch." I complimented him before sucking in a deep breath. "I am going to miss you so much Bumblebee. Two years, I can't believe how fast it's flown by. Make sure you keep in touch, okay? Tell Optimus I miss him and Jazz that I love him. I love you too Bee, so make sure you look after yourself as well." Bumblebee almost purred at me as I slowly drew back my hand and stepped aside, letting him slowly ease his way out onto the street before then screeching with his wheels and tearing after Jazz.

"Come on kids! Time to go let's hustle!" Ron ordered so I hastily gathered up the stuff I was meant to take with me along with Jazz and quickly found room for them in the car. Thankfully it wasn't much so it was no trouble finding little nooks and crannies until we were all ready to leave. I gave Michaela one final hug, promising to text her and call her on weekends and that I would be back soon so that we could hang out. It was really strange, leaving the Witwicky house with part of it having been blown off, firefighters and cops everywhere with some agents quietly disposing of the alien evidence. I couldn't help but get the feeling that I wouldn't be coming back here for a long time.

"Oh hey listen to this, I haven't heard this song in a long time!" Judy said suddenly and turned up the music, making my ears lift as I caught onto the lyrics.

" _Lean on me, when you're not strong…And I'll be your friend…I'll help you carry on_." I couldn't help it, I started to cry in silence again so I pressed my eyes shut, dried my face and took a deep breath. I'll definitely see the autobots again, that much I was certain of. I just hope by that point Jazz will have calmed down and forgiven me.


	14. Chapter 14

"Oh, my gosh! Look at this place!" Judy gasped as she stepped out the car on campus, gazing around in awe as we all stepped out. "I feel smarter already. Ron, can you smell it?"

"Yeah, smells like forty thousand dollars a year." Ron retorted smartly and I stifled a giggle as I helped to start unload the car as Sam went to find his room key. "Come here sweetheart, don't strain yourself. A young lady like you shouldn't be doing all this work." With a firm hand ushering me back Ron took over from me, insisting that I take a break and relax a little.

"Honestly it's alright Mr Witwicky, I don't mind lending a hand it's the least I could do since you brought me all the way here." I insisted however Judy made me stand back and began to point out all the attractive boys she could lay her eyes on.

"Ooh that one is definitely an eight, what do you think Helen? Is he your type?" Blushing deeply at Judy's rather loud commentaries on every guy that passed I tried to keep her reasonable under control and minimise the embarrassment Sam will feel later should Judy start acting like her usual crazy and loud self. It would not do well for a first impression to be based on your mother so I distracted Judy with the rose bushes and flowerbeds before we all grabbed some of Sam's things and head up to the dorms where he would be staying with a bunch of other guys though Judy insisted on stopping at some hippie bake sale and bought some rather suspicious looking brownies.

"We made it, here we go. It's just like Hogwarts!" Judy grinned as she gazed around, carrying two bags whilst I hauled three boxes and a suitcase of Sam's stuff.

"Is this co-ed? This is a co-ed dorm." Ron seemed rather intrigued by the fact that so many people lived and shared these dorms. I was lucky, I just had the one roommate because I'd chosen different accommodation but I was in the house right next to Sam's so we'd never be far from each other. Speaking of Sam, he looks like he wants to be shot. Like, right now. He must have already met his roommates and by the looks of things, it wasn't good.

"You guys want to meet my roommates? Some real swell guys." He drawled sarcastically as he turned into his room and gestured to the one guy in the main living area. "Here's Leo." Leo, I'd bet a hundred bucks this guy is a techie. As he exchanged pleasantries with Ron and Judy, totally sucking up to them whilst I carried everything inside Sam quickly grabbed onto the boxes in my arms. "Here let me take those, sorry to make you do this. I'll buy us dinner later to make up for it."

"Sounds good to me if you're buying. I already know where the best places are around here, they even have Mexican, your favourite." I said to him casually, completely ignoring Leo as I pulled in the suitcase, dragged it over to the only empty and bare bed and dumped it on top before sweeping back my hair and exhaling, rubbing my arms from where they ached. Sam asked about the brownies even though I'd tried to quickly signal him not to ask but Judy was already explaining about the guys out front with the dreadlocks.

"I got this at the bake sale for the environment that those boys are having. You know, you don't often see white boys with the dreadlocks." I loved how unintentionally racist Judy could be sometimes and I had to bite back a smirk as a whole argument broke out about these edibles which were _extremely_ green, if you get my meaning. As I observed, I suddenly realised that Leo and the two other guys in the dorm were staring at me. They had somehow appeared, vacating the room where Ron and Sam were chasing Judy through so I turned my head and arched an eyebrow.

"Can I help you?"

"She is so hot." One of them blurted out, I think by accident because he then stared at me in horror before diving back into the computer room, content to hide there with a rampaging Judy instead of stay in here with me.

"Helen Clarkson right? Nice to meet you I'm Leo. Are you a…are you a friend of Sam's or something?" He questioned me curiously, stretching out his hand however I did not take it, glancing down before placing my hands on my hips.

"That's right. I'm his best friend. So let me get this out just so that we're clear with each other. If you guys make life difficult for Sam in any way, I shall make sure that college is a living hell for all of you. Since you know my name I am going to assume you stalked all the hot girls you could find when you hacked into the campus server and know all about me. I'm rich, fairly decent looking and live in the social heart of campus. That means I'm likely to get invited to all the best parties and socialise with all the attractive girls around here so, if you want a way in, you're going to be nice to Sam and not give him a hard time. Got it? No Sam, no me, no parties, no girls. Clear?"

"Yes ma'am." They all agreed obediently so I flashed them a smile, making them gulp in slight terror at my sweetness.

"Good. Glad we got that settled." Turning around on my heel I gracefully excited the room and head back down to the car, grabbing the last few things with Ron however before we even made it back to the dorm we heard Judy's voice talking rather loudly and we instantly started to search around for her.

"Pretty girls! My son lives in this dorm. You should go make friends with him, he's Sam and he recently had his cherry popped!" Oh my god I think she's high. Yup, she's totally high and I did not need to know that information. That was a boundary line that Sam never crossed because I didn't want to know about the kind of stuff he got up to with Michaela behind closed doors. "He didn't know I was in the house I heard it all!"

"Not good, really not good. Sam's image is going to be destroyed before first semester even starts!" I worried as Ron grumbled under his breath about marriage and wives. By the time we reached Judy Sam was already pulling her away and I gave him an apologetic look of sympathy. Hopefully this wasn't too big of an incident, no one will remember one mother acting all weird, right? Well, if they didn't before they sure did now, considering the fact the next thing Judy went and did was body slam some random stranger.

It was the most embarrassing and awkward thing I had ever witnessed so I stood with all the bags with one hand on my head, giving a long sigh as someone walked past me. "Is that your _mom_?"

"No, I'm just helping with the bags." I answered them as they walked past, whispering behind their hands. Ugh, if this turns out like high school after all then I am going to burn this place to the ground just for some entertainment. No, I wouldn't, that's way too extreme. I'm not an arsonist I swear. Ron got Judy into the car and stayed with her whilst Sam and I made the last few trips up to his dorm and with the last stuff I stayed behind, brushing my hand against his arm. "Hey, I'll let you say goodbye to your parents on your own, okay? Tell them I said thanks and everything, but this is a moment alone you guys need."

"Yeah sure. Um, you don't have to hang around here with those guys if you don't want, they're a little weird." Sam said in a lowered voice, glancing across to the three roommates who were now watching us whilst trying to appear discreet. Smirking slightly I gave a shrug of my shoulder and assured him I'd be fine. To make myself busy I started to unpack Sam's things and set up his corner of the room with all his books and posters to start with, getting things out for him to arrange as he liked and when he came back, he sniffed a little and rubbed at his eyes.

"Hay fever?"

"Yeah, it's a killer." He agreed, giving me a grateful smile before we both stood up on his bed and started to pin his posters to the wall. "A little to the left, now up a bit, yeah just there. Perfect." Together we got the work done in no time and when we stepped back to admire our handiwork, I was rather pleased. "Guess we're freshmen now. No going back."

"Don't worry, I got your back. I already got us invited to a few parties and I am not going to any without you there because first, that would be boring for me and second, I gotta make sure these college chicks know that you're spoken for." I said to him before lifting a hand and placing the other over my heart which hummed softly like the wing beat of a humming bird. "I gave Michaela my solemn word and that is something I take very seriously so you better behave yourself or I will kick your butt."

"Hey don't worry about it. Michaela and I are going to make this work. Actually I better call her, tell her we're both okay. You want coffee?"

"Coffee sounds great actually. Only, let's not get the coffee from the environmental fundraiser, I do not want to know what they put in their beverages if the brownies are anything to go by." We laughed together at that, Sam hooking his arm around me and calling up Michaela as we head out to get something to drink with the jealous and wistful gazes of Sam's roommates staring after us as the door swung shut.


	15. Chapter 15

For someone who was comfortable in the tallest heels, I was not at all comfortable like this. I mean, I was trying to fit in a little more just to see what it was like and how people would react to me, but maybe I should have rethought my outfit. Skimpy and skin tight glittery purple cocktail dress with a low sitting neckline and off the shoulder sleeves which ran down to my wrists. Still, the glitter was a huge comfort and I felt bright and bubbly. I could get used to this. As I strode along the hall I wasted no time in knocking on Sam's door, waiting a few moments before he appeared. "Hey. Wow, you look great." Sam whistled as I smirked and turned a circle for him.

"You think so? A little different from my usual look I know but hey, a girl has to experiment. Can I come in? Are you all decent?" I asked and after Sam made sure everyone was dressed and wasn't jerking off or something, I stepped inside and instantly raided his clothes to make him change. "You absolutely can't wear that Sam, it's too casual. Here, put these on and don't argue with me." Tossing him the clothes I continued to tidy up a little, grabbing some trash that was lying on the floor and tossing it into the bin. "Remember you have a chat date with Michaela so you can't stay long, but this will give us a taste of what we're going to be expecting for the rest of the year so it's important to show our faces the first night."

"Yeah I got it, ten minutes and I'll head back here." Sam agreed, twitching nervously so I smiled and pulled him a little closer to me, leaning in and lacing our fingers together so that I could whisper.

"Relax. Think of me as your tool to attain popularity. I didn't doll myself up for nothing you know, I'm going to be something like your accessory. Totally misogynistic and degrading I know but this is just how much I love you and this is how we're going to make college way easier for the both of us." Nodding his head in silence to try and gain control of his nerves I fiddled with Sam's hair then stepped back to look at my handiwork. I'd giving Sam a strict dress code so that he actually looked pretty cool. He wore comfortable jeans with a tight fitting shirt which showed off the lean muscle he'd been busy attaining over the past two years and I'd gifted him with a Rolex watch to grab further attention. He scrubbed up pretty well, now he just needed to stay calm.

"How come Sam gets a makeover? So not fair." The dude known as Fassbinder whispered under his breath and instantly I turned around and laced my fingers together.

"Well gentlemen, if it is a makeover you want, a makeover you shall receive. Come on, show me what you got to wear." It took a while for me to trawl through all of their things, discarding the nerdy stuff which I appreciated but knew it would do them no favours and instead dressed them up like they were my little mannequins. For the dude with longish hair I gave him a hair tie and pulled it back into a messy topknot, trimmed his beard and made him put on a proper shirt with buttons and a collar. I actually had fun and the guys seemed to learn to relax around me as I gave them tips and constructive advice on how to flatter a girl and impress them as well as putting my foot down on all of their cheesy pickup lines because trust me, those things never work.

By the time we actually got to the party, the five of us entered and actually pulled a fair bit of attention as I walked out in front with Sam, arm in arm to give the impression he was taken. The music was loud, it was hot and the lights blared rather uncomfortably, making my head hurt within minutes. Each time a light flashed it seemed to make my eyes go all funny, causing something like streaks of blue to appear across my vision so I moved away from them towards where there was some softer lighting.

I'd already lost Sam so I searched for him, scanning the room before I spotted him at the food table. He had his fingers in the icing and he was drawing something on the table. What were we, five? Jesus Sam, what are you thinking? I was already on my way over there when some blonde chic started to hang off his arm, leaning in close and grinding her body against his even as he tried to brush her off. Oh no you don't, not while I'm here. Despite my eight inch stilettoes I moved pretty damn fast and as this slimy bimbo pushed back Sam's chair and sat on him, I grabbed a fistful of her hair and pulled back her head with a sharp tug which made her squeak in pain. "Hands of you blonde herpes infected porn star, he's taken." Her eyes stared up at me as I dragged her off of Sam and hauled him up on his feet. "Honestly Sammy, grow a little backbone will you?"

"Yeah, thanks for the save." Before I could answer my eye caught the table where the icing lay scrawled in a foreign transcript, almost like runes however as I stared at them, the language popped in front of my eyes and I faltered a little, gripping onto Sam for support and he hastened to steady me. "Whoa! You okay? Did you drink something?"

"Sam, where did you learn that?" I asked with a gesture to the icing however when he looked at the words, he didn't recognise them at all.

"I don't know I just started messing around, I guess. Why? Do they mean something?" That language. It wasn't human. It wasn't human at all and no human would ever be able to read it. It was alien. More specifically, Cybertronian.

"No. Nothing at all." I responded softly before grabbing a napkin and wiping away the evidence. Just as I was finished, a loud voice hollered over the music, clearly pissed and when I heard mention of a yellow Camaro, my heart froze in place. Sam was already racing through the frat party to get outside and I hurried after him though not as quickly on account of my shoes. Why is it that something has to happen now? I am in the worst dress code for the world ending if that's what's going on. Sure enough right there on the lawn was Bumblebee, wailing with warning sirens as Sam rushed to him.

"Freshman!" My head snapped towards two seniors who glowered at Sam accusingly, both of them big and muscular as I lingered on the steps, glancing between them with worry. "Is that your car in our bushes?"

"No, there's a friend of mine, he just went to get you a tighter shirt." Sam supplied and I almost smacked a hand to my face. He can be so dumb sometimes, it's ridiculous.

"There isn't a tighter shirt. We checked. Now how about I park my foot in your ass?"

"What size shoe do you wear?"

"Whoa! Okay!" I stepped in, carefully stepping down and holding out my hands. "Easy going boys, there will be no parking of anyone's foot up anyone's asses unless you push me to put this stiletto somewhere it's going to hurt for a _real_ long time." I interjected, stretching out a leg to distract the jocks by the slender shape and sure enough it did the trick as they took in the shape of my body with every movement I made. "Let's all calm down and back up. Like, right now. Back it up." With an urgent gesture at Sam he dove inside and fumbled around for a moment as Leo and the others arrived, intrigued by the fuss.

"You have a ride? Bro, why are you holding out on us?" Leo asked incredulously as Sam climbed into the driver's side and pulled the car to. "This is gonna really change our lives, you have no idea." Just as I was getting the roommates to move away from the car so that Sam could reverse out of the bushes which Bumblebee had so wonderfully trashed, that slutty creep from before snuck around behind me and leaned in through the window across from Sam and his yelp of shock snagged my attention.

"I _love_ Camaros."

"Aw jeez! I can't do this right now, okay?" She gave a snort and started to open the car door however I was already there and I flicked her aside almost effortlessly, jutting my hip against hers and she just teetered backwards like a bowling pin, unstable in her heels as I then blocked her entrance to get to Sam.

"Yeah, not gonna happen. Go home whore, sink your teeth into another man." I dismissed her rather cruelly but I didn't care. Something about that girl set me off, unsettled me even. I don't know what it was or why I felt that way but she just gave me the creeps and the way she was desperate to find a taken man and make him hers was just disgusting, I mean, that is just manipulative and the bitchiest thing you could do. "Sam, go. Get us out of here." Taking the passenger seat Sam had Bee reverse however Bumblebee was not messing around and forced several people to leap out of the way with a screech. "Hey! What's going on? Is everything okay? Why are you here Bee?"

"Yeah Bee, why're you here? You know I distinctly remember saying that I wanted a normal, college life!" Sam demanded to know and Bee rattled through the stations so fast that all we got was a jumbled mess of messages which all had the underlying theme of danger and big problems. Just perfect. Exactly what we need. Sam was now happy, evident by how he fell into silence and pouted sourly. I couldn't find anything to say so I kept my mouth shut, shifting uncomfortably as Bumblebee continued to drive us through the night and into the early hours of the morning.

I must have fallen asleep because when I woke up, we'd come to a halt and it was the sound of the door slamming shut which jerked me awake. Sam had already left and when I registered a warm and familiar presence I quickly got out of the car and looked up to see Optimus Prime standing among the statues of the graveyard. "You won't give me a day, huh?" Sam questioned as he climbed up to meet him and I hung back a moment, folding my arms against the morning chill and leaned back against Bee to listen. "You won't give me one day in college?"

"I'm sorry, Sam, but the last fragment of the All Spark was stolen." Okay, that's bad. Judging by the juice one shard had, that other piece could very well bring more Decepticons to life which would be a disaster for us.

"Like what? Like Decepticons stole it?"

"We placed it under human protection at your government's request, but I'm here for your help, Sam, because your leaders believe we brought vengeance upon your planet." Optimus began, appealing to Sam rather earnestly and humbly. I could feel the worry and concerns gnawing away at him on the inside, I could feel it in my own chest and the burden was heavy. It was like my body was turning to metal but my bones were not strong enough to carry them and it was sinking me further and further into the ground. How could Optimus carry around all that weight by himself all this time? "Perhaps they are right. That is why they must be reminded by another human of the trust we share."

"This isn't my war." Sam argued, balking at the idea of being involved further with the conflict between the Decepticons and Autobots. I didn't understand why he didn't want to help, I mean, these were our friends. Normal life or not, we owe them our lives and now Optimus Prime is asking for his help, how can he say no?!

"Not yet, but I fear it soon will be." Optimus shook his head sadly as he spoke, a deep melancholy in his voice which thrummed in my heart as it warmed beneath my chest. "Your world must not share the same fate as Cybertron. Whole generations lost."

"I know, and I want to help you, I do, but I am not some alien ambassador, you know? I'm a normal kid with normal problems. I am where I'm supposed to be. I'm sorry. I...I really am." Turning away Sam started to return to where I was, keeping his head low as a means not to meet my gaze.

"Sam, fate rarely calls upon us at a moment of our choosing."

"You're Optimus Prime. You don't need me." Reaching out I touched my friend's arm gently, making him pause a moment to respectfully listen to what I had to say.

"They saved our lives Sam, protected us when they did not have to. Shouldn't we at least do this as a way of saying thank you? Listen, I know you want a normal life, but let's face it Sammy, we're not normal anymore." Lifting his hand to rest it over my heart, I knew Sam could feel the warmth that emitted from my skin and the steady thrum like a drone which now replaced my heartbeat. "Whether we like it or not, we can never be normal again, not when we've gone through the things we've gone through, you know?"

"I get it and you're right, but this is still my choice and I can't just constantly be dropping my life to take care of things which are way bigger than I am. There are plenty of people out there better suited to this kind of thing than I am, and you're one of them. You don't need me, Hel, you can do this without me. I just want to go back to college, take a shower and go to class. It's your choice whether or not you come with me, but I think you should start thinking about what you want and what's best for you. These guys aren't going to be here forever and what happens if you get left behind? Huh?" Sam brought up some rather excellent points, ones that I had been trying to ignore all this time so I turned my head away and let him go. "That's what I thought."

Sam moved past me and got back into Bee, shaking his head and turning away from me as I slowly looked towards Optimus who took his large steps towards me and knelt down, offering me his hand which I naturally sat down on so that he could lift me up to his face. "Hey big red." I murmured softly as I reached out my hand and touched his face.

"I have missed your presence, little spark. It has been too long." I didn't need to tell him aloud that I agreed, it was all being shared through the bond. Our silent conversation lasted only a few seconds as a multitude of emotions, memories and words were shared at once. Optimus's facial features relaxed at me, smiling softly as his other hand came around my back to make sure that I was supported and would not fall. "I know that I do not need to ask for your help, your answer is already clear."

"No matter what it is, if you think that I can help you then I will. I don't know what good my words will do, but if you think that it'll help calm things down then I can talk for America. Just point out who needs setting straight and I'll have their head spinning." An affectionate smile appeared and a burst of warmth flared at my chest as Optimus carefully moved his smallest finger to touch my face and brush against my hair.

"I have no doubt in you at all, little spark of mine. I shall make contact with Major Lennox and arrange a diplomatic embassy to be arranged. Perhaps together we can persuade your government that our continued presence here on earth is vital for the survival of the human race." Nodding my head in agreement I carefully stood up on his hand, balancing in my heels before I leaned forwards and wrapped my arms around his face so that my forehead could lean against his helm, the both of us feeling more relaxed and comforted when in close proximity with one another. When I realised how much I had missed him, it hurt all the more but I pushed it aside, a trembling smile on my lips as I spoke.

"They're not going to send you away. I won't let them. I'll shout down anyone who tries to say different, even the President himself if I have to. Just take care, okay? I got a bad feeling in my gut which says that the Decepticons aren't messing around for nothing. If they do come back, then promise me you'll take care."

"I give you my word." Drawing back Optimus knelt down and let me slide off his hand to the ground however before he stood back up I gripped onto his finger and looked up at him earnestly.

"How's Jazz? He hasn't spoken to me since…well you probably know everything. I didn't mean it like he took it, I want him to know that. Will you tell him for me?" Of course I sucked at putting it into words but Optimus knew perfectly what I meant so when he nodded his head and assured me that he would carry my message back to Jazz I felt much more relieved. I didn't want to leave him however Optimus insisted that for now, it was best if I tried to continue living as normally as I was able until they were ready to bring me in to talk some diplomacy.

I hugged his foot before I left, climbing back into Bee who took us back home to campus where things were still quiet and rather deserted in the early morning hours. Sam stalked away in a mood but I stayed behind just to be with Bee a little while longer. "You miss him, don't you big guy?" The radio blurred for a second before starting to sing.

" _Lonely I'm so lonely, I have nobody to call my own…I'm so lonely, I'm Mr Lonely, I have nobody…to call my own…zzt…All by myself…don't wanna be…all by myself!_ "

"Oh Bee, I'm sorry you feel that way." I said to him, patting the dashboard. "But hey, we might not be able to hang out all the time like we used to but we'll still get to see one another. Considering I'm all jacked up on energon and whatever crazy mess that happened back in Mission City, you guys are kind of stuck with me so don't be so down." Bee responded with a happier tune this time and I relaxed, giving a smile. "And no matter what other people say, you guys are my friends. I'd even go as far as to say that you're like my family, so that's something else." Bee whirred softly at me, radio flickering for a moment until the voices started to filter through the radio.

" _You…are…one of us…so don't ever…forget…that we always…got your back."_

"Same here Bumblebee." I hummed in agreement before stifling a tired yawn. "Hm, I am so glad I don't have class today. I think I'll just sleep for a couple of hours and eat a takeout or something." Although this sounded like a wonderful idea I still didn't move, remaining seated where I was warm and comfortable in Bee's presence. "I should probably let you go now." The engine hummed gently in answer as a means to reassure me, probably. "Don't worry about Sam, I'll take care of him. You just worry about yourself and make sure you come home safely. If I can get the clearance, I'll try and come see you guys for Christmas and we can all go for a drive or something. We'll figure this all out, trust me." There was a brief scratching sound of static as Bumblebee reached for a way to communicate before beginning to play a new song.

" _We belong to the light, we belong to the thunder…We belong to the sound of the words we've both fallen under…Whatever we deny or embrace for worse or for better…We belong, we belong, we belong together!_ " I had to admit this made me laugh, smiling broadly as Bumblebee played the chorus then stopped.

"Have to say Bee, I love the way you're in tune with all the classics. You really are the best."

" _Damn straight I am._ " Still smiling I leaned forwards and pecked a kiss on his steering wheel as a symbol of affection before sliding out the door.

"I'll see you soon Bumblebee, drive safe okay?" Not that Bumblebee _could_ get into an accident even if he tried, I still wanted to remind him to be careful regardless. As I walked away however, Bee started to play that song again, turning up the volume louder and louder the further away I walked until I stopped and turned back, waving to him with a broad smile. He always knew how to cheer me up, that's one of the many things I loved about him. I watched as he left, seeing him off until he was gone from sight and after that, I went back to my dorm, had a shower and crawled into bed, ready to sleep and sleep even if I slept through the end of the world.


	16. Chapter 16

It was in the middle of class when Michaela started to call me. At first I dismissed it, thinking that she would just text instead however when the calls kept on coming and my mobile vibrated incessantly I realised that something must be wrong so I gathered up my things and quietly slipped out of class, answering as I was shouldering my bag. "Michaela? Are you okay what's wrong?"

"It's Sam, I don't know exactly what happened but he called me a few minutes ago saying he'd had some kind of breakdown and he's seeing these crazy symbols everywhere and he said something about his great-great grandfather." Michaela told me immediately and I felt as if the blood in my veins had suddenly gone cold. "I'm worried about him, will you go and check on him? I'll be on a plane soon so just make sure he stays safe until I get there. We got a lot we need to talk about."

"Yeah sure, I'll head to his dorm now. Don't worry, we can sort this out just stay calm and get the fastest flight, I'll wire you the money if you need it."

"I got it but thanks. Just hurry, he sounded more nervous and twitchy than usual." This was bad. We hung up and I hurriedly ran to Sam's dorm room, hammering my fist on the door however when Leo answered looking more than a little hung over I craned my neck to see inside.

"Where's Sam?"

"Sam? He's not here. I thought he had class. What's going on?" Not waiting to explain I strode away, searching the building then started through campus. I checked the cafeteria, the classrooms, lecture halls, library, picnic areas and everywhere else I could think to look until I'd been searching for hours. Damn it, this is bad. This is extremely bad, I should really think about a tracker or something. I was just about to head into town when I got a text from Leo saying that Sam had come back, trashed their room and was now getting laid by Alice, that blonde girl from before. Swearing under my breath I ran all the way back to his apartment, pushing past people and before I could even think, slammed my shoulder against his door.

It burst open and I tumbled inside, grasping onto the frame for balance however when I looked up to see Sam being pressed into the bed by Alice and her tongue practically down his throat, I had to do a double take. The only thing that kept me from kicking off and tearing the both of them apart was when I saw the markings he'd painted on the walls. They were everywhere, the language suddenly burning into the back of my eyes and even though I couldn't read it, I felt a strong sense of recognition. "Helen! Uh…hi!" Sam breathed, looking at me with utter fear. To make things worse, that was the exact moment Michaela showed up.

I hadn't even heard her come up behind me but when she looked over my shoulder and into the room to see Sam being straddled by some chick, her face fell. "Oh, is that your girlfriend?" Alice asked rather dryly as I swallowed back the bile in my throat.

"Ex." Michaela corrected, her face falling into one of hardness as she pulled back and tugged on my arm to pull me away. "Let's go Helen, we're wasting our time here."

"Michaela wait!" Sam yelled however even as the door swung shut behind us he didn't seem to pursue. Instead I turned to Michaela and placed my arm around her.

"God Michaela I am so sorry, I tried to keep her away from him…I'm so sorry." I tried to apologise but before she could answer, we heard something crash from within the room and not the kind of crash you'd expect to hear from a couple getting a little out of hand. Something was wrong, that bad feeling was back and it was turning my gut into a swamp of bad tastes and twisting nerves. After the second crash I stalked back to the door and pushed it open where Sam suddenly dropped in front of me, Michaela at my elbow and Leo appearing none the wiser as a long mechanical tongue slithered back into Alice's throat.

"Sam your bed buddy Alice…wow!" A breath of silence before Sam screamed. He screamed so loudly and with such a high pitch it burned my ears.

"Sam move it! Get up!" I lunged for my best friend, grabbing his arms and hauling him back as Michaela launched the big box she'd been carrying with her at Alice who easily ducked underneath it and it crashed out the window, shattering the glass. I hauled Sam to his feet and then we were running. That thing is a Decepticon, I knew I had a bad feeling about her from the very beginning! Gross! I will never get the image of that fleshy tongue on the end of that metal whip out of my head!

"All right, come on!" My hand naturally grabbed onto Michaela's and we ran together out of the building and towards one of the libraries in the hope to lose our hormonally orientated metal monster freak. Once we were inside we ducked down and hid ourselves behind a desk filled with papers and files, keeping our heads down with Michaela and Leo hiding on one side of the desk which was split in the middle and Sam hiding with me on the other.

"Oh, my god! Oh, my god! I can't believe I almost had sex with her in my dream!"

"Dude that's gross and totally not the time." I snapped pointedly at Leo as he hyperventilated and Michaela started tearing out Sam. Inwardly I was berating myself. Why did I have to leave all my important stuff back in my dorm? I can't even contact Jazz, Bumblebee or Optimus because I'd left the earpiece behind. Great going Helen, now we're stuck with a baby Decepticon on campus.

"I can tell that you really missed me a lot, Sam!"

"Look, it's not my fault, okay?" Sam argued and tried to defend himself so I gave him a hearty smack and told him that he was stupid for being so easily cajoled into a compromising situation then allowed them to continue their little quarrel in hushed tones. "You ever had your stomach tongued by a mountain ox with a five-foot tongue? It's not fun for me, okay, Michaela? It smelled like…like diesel! There was like a diesel-y tinge to it!"

"You're such a little girl!" I have to say if the situation wasn't so life and death, this would actually be pretty funny. All the same, I can't see any sign of robot-Alice anywhere, maybe we gave her the slip. We can't stay put for long, eventually she'll find us so our best chance is to probably try and get of campus and out of town. Anywhere would do so long as we leave that bitch far behind us. Just as I was about to suggest that Sam and Michaela save their argument for later, the library exploded.

Both Sam and Leo screamed like little chickens and ducked violently, Sam grabbing onto me and praying for god as I leaped to my feet and ducked down my head, yelling for everyone to move as Alice, completely transformed into Decepticon mode, sprang into the library through the hole she had made in the wall. Honestly, some people just have no respect for books, it's nauseating. "Move it, come on jump!" I practically forced Sam over the side and he lunged for the hanging light, yelling as more bookshelves exploded under the fire of our stalker whilst Leo and Michaela took the stairs. I vaulted, dropping down and grabbed onto a shelf to break my fall before dropping the last few feet though my hands hurt from the fall, making me hiss in pain as I flicked them out. "Come on Sam, we have to go _now_!" Hearing a whirring sound my chest suddenly flared with heat like a danger signal and instantly I leaped onto Sam and dragged him to the ground, yelling. "Everybody get down!"

The moment we had dove under the table, a huge jet of flames and explosive power burst through rows upon rows of bookcases and the books came flying everywhere, slamming against us and we slid across the marble flooring underneath the wreckage before we scuttled out and made our way to the edge of the library. "Helen! Helen!"

"I'm here, hang on." I gasped for breath, gripping onto Sam's hand to pull him towards me as he wrapped an arm around Michaela, together the three of us as well as Leo pressing our backs to the wall until a huge section was blown away, providing us with an escape route. Not too bright was she? Dumb cyborg thing. Both Michaela and I had pulled off our heels so that we could run faster, diving down the steps and towards the parking lot where we went for the first car we saw.

"You've got to get that box!" Michaela pointed to the one she had thrown out the window as a means to try and hit Alice so Sam dove for it as I reached the car and pulled open the back, jumping in as Leo climbed in next to me.

"Oh, my God, you know how to hotwire a car? That's so hot." In response I elbowed him sharply in the face, hearing a satisfying crunch as Michaela pulled the wires and sparked them together until the engine finally kicked in and we all yelled for Michaela to drive.

"Drive, drive, drive! She's right there! She's right there!" There was nothing creepier than watching that chic strut up to the car like some hooker before transforming right in front of us, scratching into the framework and smashing into the glass with her fleshy tongue and I screamed as it flickered near my face, completely freaked out as Michaela tried to shake her off and Sam hyperventilated in the passenger seat. "Tongue! Oh, my God!" Wrenching on the wheel Michaela drove straight for a lamppost, hitting the gas as she grit her teeth.

"Kiss this, bitch!" With only seconds to react I grabbed my seatbelt and strapped it in before flinging out my arm across Leo, holding him back in his seat as we crashed into the metal pole and I heard a large grating crunch of metal, Alice going limp as she was crushed completely like a total wreck. Well, thank god that part was over.

"Michaela, you are literally the sexiest thing I have ever seen and that totally turned me on. I love you so much." I gasped, the adrenaline still rushing through my head as I finally took deep breaths and dropped my arm from Leo. We didn't even pause to check if she was still alive, we just drove right out of there and did not look back, though Leo recovered from his fear enough to star rounding on us.

"Okay, so what else don't I know? Since you guys forgot to mention some minor details!"

"That thing you saw back there, that was like a little baby...whoa-whoa-whoa!" The boys both yelled and screamed, rearing back from the chopper which had descended towards us and seemed almost intent on hitting us. Reacting instinctively Michaela slammed on the brakes even as I yelled for her not to, that we should head for an underpass or an alley where the chopper couldn't follow but we spun to a halt and before any of us could drag air into our body, a huge metal claw split through the roof top and latched onto us, making Leo freak out in astronomical proportions along with Sam. "Oh, my God! Oh, my God!" Sitting on Michaela's side, I caught a large rush of black and just about managed to see the truck as it screeched to a halt but too late to avoid hitting us and as we were lifted off the ground we were sent into a whirling flail, Sam's door flying open and him falling out. Whatever he did in a past life, it must have been bad to have received all this negative karma.

"Sam!"

"Sammy!" We all screamed his name, trying to reach for him as he dangled in the air by the door of the car with his own screams echoing around us. Taking off the seatbelt I surged forwards and gripped onto the steering wheel for an anchor, reaching out as far as my hand would go so that Sam could swing up his other arm and catch on. "Hold on Sammy, hold on!" I pulled with all my might, gritting my teeth under the strain as I slowly managed to haul Sam up whereby Leo also grabbed on and pulled him in, safely slamming the door shut.

"I don't wanna die! We're gonna die!" Leo yelled at the top of his lungs as we were carried over the water and through the air to a place I didn't recognise. The heat in my chest was not so hot that it was making my eyes water and I struggled to breathe, only able to manage short, rapid breaths as anything deeper caused me too much pain to handle. When the chopper hovered over a building, a sinking feeling came to my stomach until we were released, then it shot right back up through my throat. We descended smoothly, everyone yelling and gripping onto one another desperately until we crashed through the roof of some abandoned building, causing our necks to jolt sharply but that was nothing compared to hitting the ground.

We nosedived downwards then smashed into concrete, the airbags blasting outwards whilst Leo and I gripped onto one another and I used the seatbelts to lock us in, dazed from the fall however when something sharp suddenly sliced through the car with a metallic wail, we each screamed in response as our hearts threatened to give out under all this strain. The car was split in two and I felt incredibly sorry for the person we'd stolen it from, but not exactly at that moment. Right now, I was more worried about the fact that there were Decepticons everywhere. Worst of all, however, was this painful drone in the back of my mind.

It was like the whistle of a boiled kettle or of an old steam engine, constant and growing louder at the back of my head until my vision seemed to split and tear right before me, splitting at the seams to reveal bursts of blue. I don't know how, but I could recognise one of those Decepticons as instinctively as if he were my own flesh and blood. I didn't even need to look, that menacing shadow which loomed over us all was enough to confirm what I already knew. "Megatron." My hoarse whisper was barely heard and as I slowly lifted my head and looked at him, my mind became alive with information.

His life flashed before me, his unbound rage pounding against my head like an everlasting scream which threatened to drive me insane even as I tried to fight it. Then, just as soon as it had started, it all went silent. All that remained was that sensation of familiarity and, to my horror, it felt exactly the same as it did with Optimus, only this was hazier and was not reciprocated. Thank the Lord for small mercies. "Come here, boy." Megatron ordered and his voice made me shudder as I fumbled for Michaela's arm and gripped onto it, pushing her behind me even as we trembled together. "Closer. You remember me, don't you?"

Sam lifted his hands in surrender and slowly started to move towards Megatron, none of us having the ability to defy him. We were dead. It was quite simple. No one was coming to rescue us, we were alone and there was no way we would ever get out of this alive. Still, that's not going to stop me from trying. As Sam began to descend down the steps I searched the ground for a tool or a weapon, anything that might help us but all we had was debris. If that's all we had, then we'll have to use it. Somehow. "I did what you said, okay? Just don't hurt us." Like a snapping twig, Megatron's temper flared.

"Shut up!" His claw snatched at the staircase and Sam went flying with a wailing yell, Michaela lurching forwards so I quickly grabbed onto her to stop her from doing anything stupid as she yelled for Sam. "Yes! It feels good to grab your flesh! I am going to kill you slowly, painfully, but first, we have some delicate work to do." Slowly we inched forwards, trying to get a better view at what was going on. Leo was totally silent and Michaela looked more terrified than I had ever seen her before. Quite honestly, I didn't know how I felt right now, my body had sort of gone numb. "How I could snap your limbs off! Doctor, examine this alien specimen."

Due to Megatron's large frame none of us could see what was going on, however my throat went dry when Sam yelled outward. "Brain? What does he mean by my brain?"

"Well, you have something on your mind, something I need." Megatron reasoned, pinching his claws together as he held Sam down on the ground. Twisting my head I looked at a bent piece of pipe and quickly grabbed hold of it, sucking in a deep breath and licking my lips. If I can make the jump and land on Megatron's neck, I can do some damage to his neck joints and cause problems for his circulatory system which might buy us enough time to try and make a run for it.

"Hold on. I know you're pissed. I know you're pissed because I tried to kill you and it's completely understandable. If somebody tried to kill me, I'd be upset, too. I think that we have an opportunity here to start anew and develop our relationship and see where it leads us, okay?" Sam tried to bargain and thankfully, everyone was so focused on watching what was happening down there that no one saw me scrambling up onto a pile of concrete slabs to gain a large height advantage. "So, you just call Doctor Inspector off and let's just talk for five seconds!" Now or never, hang on Sam!

Just as I was about to jump, something crashed through the ceiling and suddenly, that burning pain turned into glowing warmth, chasing away everything that was hurting and as Optimus descended down from above, I felt happier to see him than I had ever done before. Now reenergised by the autobots' arrival, I turned my head and yelled to Leo and Michaela, jerking them into action. "Run!" I leaped off of my podium and jumped for the stairs, rushing down them as fast as I could towards Sam who flung a tiny little spider creature thing off of him and flailed his arms and legs wildly in the confusion as Megatron turned to face Optimus but the moment I grabbed hold of Sam's arm he calmed and our eyes met. "Follow me Sam, I got you."

In a brief moment, Sam looked at me and for a brief moment, a glimmer of something flashed across his face, a fleeting expression I couldn't catch in time to read except that I think Sam would never think of me the same way again. His fingers gripped onto me tightly, almost reliantly as I pulled him to his feet and started to run for an exit, bringing him in close and making him duck his head as we avoided getting crushed by Megatron's feet and escaped the fray of battle as Bumblebee broke through the wall and took on Starscream.

We kept on running even when we had made it outside, turning the corner and racing along the building side until a massive form crashed through and I flung out my arm to halt us both, Sam holding onto my jacket as I shielded him from Megatron instinctively. He did not even give us a glance, turning onto his front and transforming into some kind of tank like vehicle to escape as Optimus climbed down. "Helen! Sam!" The barked order jolted me into action once more and the moment Optimus was fully transformed I pushed Sam forwards.

"Hurry and get in, climb up!" We were both out of breath and covered in dust however the moment we were safely sat inside, Optimus hit the gas and lurched forwards with a heavy grind of his tyres, going as fast as he could. "Optimus, you made it. You came just in time, I'll never be able to thank you enough." I breathed, sitting behind the wheel as Optimus did not halt for anything, blaring the horn to force traffic to move as he tried to get us out of the city.

"It is fortunate that we were not too late, little spark. Hold on now, reinforcements are coming. I shall protect you both with my life, so entrust your fate to me. Should I fall, you must run and do not look back no matter what may befall me."

"We're not going to leave you." I protested, gripping onto the wheel with one hand as my heart hummed more urgently, almost like it were crying out in a melancholy song. "I'm _not_ leaving you and you're not going to die either so don't talk crap like that. We're going to get through this, together. Now, what the hell did they want with Sam's brain? Do you know?" I questioned him as he constantly looked back to see if we were being followed.

"Ever since I touched that Cube sliver I have been seeing pictures and symbols in my head, like the ones I drew on the walls and at that party. I don't know what they mean or anything but for some reason Megatron wants whatever is in my head." Sam explained and I just stared at him blankly. "What?"

"I just…how the hell do you get into so much…you know what? Never mind. Let's just focus on staying alive, shall we?" Optimus drove us out of the city, however when we reached a forested area I felt that sharp sting at the back of my head return, the only warning I received before Megatron came back and hit us hard. Sam barely had time to yell as Optimus transformed around us, momentarily flinging us out into the open air before his hand grabbed hold and tucked us into him as he rolled, shielding us as he collided with Megatron before he let go and we crashed into the grass. At this point I was really glad I was wearing wedges, because stilettoes would have been a nightmare. Still, not ideal running shoes, at least they were only a few inches high.

"Both of you, hide!" Optimus ordered so the moment we were both on our feet and staggering, we locked hands and ran for our lives, trying to get as far away from the fighting as possible though when we dove for a fallen tree and used it as cover, I risked a look back and saw Optimus absolutely tearing into Megatron like it was child's play. "Weak! Puny! Waste of metal!" He snarled with each blow he delivered and my admiration for him only grew deeper. "Junkyard crap!" I had to admit, I laughed at that one even though it was neither the time nor place.

"Decepticons!" The moment Megatron called for his lackeys I grabbed onto Sam's arm and pulled him up.

"We gotta move, there's more of them coming in." With my hand on his back I guided him forwards, staring at Optimus with worry before I tore away my gaze and raced after Sam. The ground quaked underfoot and made it almost impossible for either of us to maintain our balance, meaning that we toppled and wavered whenever one of them crashed into the earth but we did not give up running, especially when Starscream came after us with his jet wings whistling and foul breath making me retch.

"Come here, boy."

"Keep running!" I encouraged, surprised at how even though I was breathing hard, my lungs weren't yet out of breath. If anything, I could feel myself getting stronger. The warmth of the energon inside me started to spread, focusing on my legs and torso and I pushed myself to run faster, running pace with Sam as we ducked and weaved as Decepticons continued to hunt us down and Optimus being the only one who stood in their way.

"There is another source of energon hidden on this planet. The boy could lead us to it." I could hear Megatron say as I held Sam back, pinning us both behind a tree to avoid being detected, however when I felt wrenching pain all across my body I turned my head and witnessed Optimus being surrounded and struck upon repeatedly, outnumbered by his foes. Those bastard Decepticons! Stop it, you're hurting him! When a final blow cut across Optimus's chest, severely injuring him, a colossal scream erupted from my throat before I even realised it was me who was voicing it.

"NO!" It echoed all around us, drowning out Sam's shout completely.

"Is the future of our race not worth a single human life?" This time it was Sam who grabbed me, dragging me away to run a safer distance however no matter how far we ran, we just weren't fast enough or big enough to cover the distance. Optimus was literally thrown in our direction and we had to hit the ground mid-sprint in order to avoid being crushed by him, the uprooted trees now serving as our barricade as we cowered in fear and alarm.

"Up! Get up!"

"Optimus! Optimus please, please…" I don't even know what I'm begging him for. To get up? Fight? Run away? No, it was far simpler than that. I just want him to live. In my heart I could feel this draining ache which was slowly sapping at me, the bond we shared linking us too closely for me not to feel how Optimus did right now, even though he was trying to shield me from it. His rage blazed as he rose back to his feet, turning to shield us even as he stood against many, even more than before.

"You'll never stop at one. I'll take you all on!" There was never anything more badass than Optimus Prime, leader of the autobots, taking on so many Decepticons on his own and absolutely kicking their asses. He was a hurricane of metal and ripped through them like they were nothing, forcing them to retreat back until the last one remained and he ripped its face apart with the two blades he wielded, destroying it completely before dragging it to the ground. "Piece of tin." He muttered in distaste before desperately turning his head. "Spark, Sam! Where are you?!" I was about to call out to him, to stand up with a smile and tell him how amazing and awesome he was however before I could even raise myself up into view, a clawed hand grasped Optimus's arm behind and before I knew it, a sharp object was protruding from his chest.

It were like being struck full force by a truck. No worse than that. It felt like dying a second time. All I saw was a flash of white, a vast eternity of this blankness before everything rushed back into colour and focus, leaving me staring at Optimus as his spark exploded out of his chest and he was left to crumble to the ground. All words disappeared from my mind, I didn't even scream. I just stood there, not even realising I had stood up and stared at Optimus as he landed on his side with a pain filled groan which I too could feel.

The heat was receding into nothing, being replaced by a heavy coldness which was sharp and biting against my lungs which still refused to breathe. It was of no consequence, however I noted in that moment how fresh the air smelled with a hint of metallic rust, fresh grass and tree sap. I could see every detail in the highest definition as Optimus fell weak, broken and destroyed. Suddenly I was crying and sobbing, lunging forwards to try and reach him however Sam tackled me to the ground to stop me, trying to drag me back but I kicked him off and crawled on the ground towards Optimus as the emptiness inside continued to swell. "Spark, Sam…run. Run." His eyes fixed upon me as he groaned with a dying breath and the tears blurred my vision until all I could see were the blurred specks of luminous blue until they faded away, leaving nothing but an empty shell.

My hand touched something cold and metallic so I gripped onto it and pulled it closer to me as I lay helplessly on the ground, Sam grabbing my arms and dragging me away to run. I ran blind so I depended on his hand to guide me, releasing a screaming wail into the sky as the autobots arrived with Bumblebee halting on the road. Sam pushed me in first and climbed in afterwards, taking my distressed cries with me as Michaela pulled me into the back with her and wrapped her arms around me so that my face became hidden against her. "What happened? Yo, what _happened_?"

"Optimus Prime is dead." Sam whispered as he stared out the window, too much in shock to do or say much else.

"No, no he can't be. He isn't. _No_!" I don't know how long I cried for but as the soul ravaging sobs slowly diminished the more tired I became I opened my hand and looked down. It was just a cog, small in size yet I could see several Cybertronian runes etched upon the surface. It had come from Optimus and now, this was all I had left of him. I could feel the energon inside me spreading itself thin, trying to heal a pain which was not physical or repairable. As I lay with my head upon Michaela's lap and she stroked my hair I held that small part against my chest where I felt a weak thrum against the coldness I now felt inside.


	17. Chapter 17

We were running from the Decepticons, we were running from the government, FBI, CIA, hell, it felt like the whole world was coming after us. Still, I couldn't find the energy to give one damn. Michaela had gone and got us some food with the cash she had on hand but I didn't feel like eating. All I could do was sit against Bumblebee and wallow in this feeling. I didn't even know it was possible to feel so much grief but here I was. This sucked, I swear to god when I next see Megatron I am going to rip out his circuits one by one until he's nothing but a shrivelled pile of garbage. "I can't believe he's gone." I finally spoke though the words caught uncomfortably in my throat. "Bee, I'm so sorry."

 _"It ain't your fault…he did it because he wanted to…he loved you."_ This only made me feel more wretched so I turned my head against his thigh which was serving as my backrest for the time being, my face contorting once more.

"Yeah, I know. I felt it." Bee crooned softly in a gentle voice as I shivered, unable to shift this coldness I felt inside. No matter what I tried I just couldn't get warm, even when I was right next to the fire. Bumblebee carefully lifted me up and placed me in one of the old sofa chairs that we'd found at a dumpsite and made me sit down, picking up a blanket between two fingers and tucked me in like I was a little doll. "Thanks Bee." I huddled under the blanket, staring off into space until Sam came back. It was dark by this point and spirits were low, however I took solace in the fact that we were together and we even had company by means of the twins, Skids and Mudflap. I hadn't met them before now but Jazz had mentioned them when they'd first arrived. They were troublemakers and idiots most of the time, but their hearts were in the right place.

When Sam came over Michaela got up to meet him, placing her arms around him as they shared a rather intimate embrace. "There's nothing that you could have done." I wish we could believe that. In my head I was going over hundreds of possible scenarios where Optimus didn't end up with a sword through his back but I knew each one was as ridiculous and unlikely as the last. Lifting my eyes I watched as Sam turned to Bumblebee, approaching him with a bowed head of heavy shame.

"Bee, if you hate me, I understand. I messed up. I'm sorry."

" _Young fella…you are the person I care about most in my life….If there's anything you need, I won't be far away._ " Bumblebee said to him sincerely however Sam looked the same way I felt. Responsible, guilty and dispirited.

"He's dead because of me. He came here to protect me and he's dead."

" _There's some things you just can't change_." Bee said, trying to comfort his friend in the same way I usually would. I've never seen Sam this heartbroken. The fact that the Decepticons had come after him specifically must really be getting to him and I could understand the way he was thinking. If it weren't for him then Optimus would probably still be alive, but he didn't ask for this, it wasn't his fault. " _So, his sacrifice for us would not have been in vain. Hallelujah!_ "

"I'm gonna make it right. I'm going to turn myself in." Instantly I sat up a little straighter under my blanket, coming back to life a little. Oh no he is not, I am not going to let Sam throw everything away just to get snatched back by the Decepticons who want to pull out his brain and mess around with it.

" _We... We've got to stick together_!" Transforming as he spoke Bumblebee nudged against Sam's back legs, letting him lean against his hood as a means to support him.

"Sam, you can't turn yourself in. Nobody can keep you safe like we can, not with the whole world after you and the Decepticons watching." I reasoned with him quietly, his eyes flickering across to me. "The moment you come back up on the grid, they are going to snatch you away and kill you after draining every bit of knowledge you have." Getting up I let go of the blanket and let it slide back onto the chair as I walked forwards. "These symbols, they have to mean something right? If we can just figure out what they say then it could lead us to that energon source Megatron was talking about. We have to find it before he does, otherwise I think we're going to be seeing a lot more death around here and I refuse to lose someone else I love." Drawing myself up to my full height I narrowed my eyes. "So come on, think. What are we going to do?"

Pausing for a moment Sam looked up to the twins who so far had been silent in reverence for the heavy atmosphere. "You two. Hey, you know the glyphs?" Sam asked before pulling back his sleeve to reveal a mark on his arm, one that must have been brandished onto his skin when Megatron had been holding him. That had to have hurt a lot. Ouch. "These? The symbols that have been rattling around in my head."

"That's old school, yo. That's, like...that's Cybertronian."

"That's some serious stuff, right there." The twins said rather unhelpfully.

"They gotta mean something, like a message or like a map. Like a map to an energon source. Can you read this?" Sam asked however the both of them recoiled in surprise before acting all awkward and guilty.

"Read?"

"No. We don't really do much reading. Not so much." Well this is going just great. We got a bunch of symbols we can't read and nothing to go on. If we can't figure out what these symbols say then any chance we might have of stopping Megatron from destroying our world will disappear.

"If you can't read it, we gotta find somebody who can." Leo slowly and nervously approached us at that point, coming back from wherever it was he had gone to. What brought him back? I thought he'd thrown a little hissy fit and got out of here as fast as he could to avoid getting caught up in all this.

"Look who came sashaying back!"

"I had a bit of a mild panic attack earlier, alright?" He excused, seeming much calmer than before. There was still a jumpiness towards him, especially as he stood between the twins as they seemed to make him nervous, probably because they had threatened to pop a can in his ass and throw him into a trunk earlier. To be honest I think he's doing pretty well, considering the fact this is his first time hanging out with aliens. "I think I'm allowed that, considering what I've been through. I heard you have a problem and I think I know someone who can help." That got my attention.

"Who?"

"Robo-Warrior." You have got to be kidding me. That rival nerd for Leo's conspiracy theory website? I had hoped for a better plan than that.

"Wait a minute, you're telling us that you think we can get some techie who kept on hacking your site to tell us what these mean?" I asked, gesturing to a few symbols Sam had drawn in the dirt. "Please tell me you're not joking around because in case you haven't noticed, we've been having a real crappy day and pushing our buttons is _not_ going to end well for you."

"No, no, no! I'm serious, he's our best shot at figuring something out. Everything we ever found or uploaded about these alien space-buddies of yours he snatched it like a magpie going for something shiny, he was relentless!" Leo insisted, holding up his hands as if to ward me off. "Listen, I think I know where we can find him and it's not gonna hurt to at least try, right? You got any better ideas?" Sadly, I did not, so this was all we could do at this moment. I was reluctant to take Sam into New York, suggesting that we split up and I take the twins with Leo to go find this Robo-Warrior guy however it was Bumblebee who told me that splitting up was not a good idea. Strength in numbers and all that, so we head there together.

We ended up outside a deli in downtown New York, something totally nondescript and the smell turned my stomach over rather uncomfortably. "Really? Your Robo-Warrior guy works here?" I asked and Leo gave me a dry scowl before turning to Sam as I pulled a cap over his head and pulled up the hood to cover his face and head. Not that a bright yellow Camaro was a dead giveaway but this should buy us some time at least.

"Alright, wait here. I'll give you the go no go." Leo went in first and I heard the chime of the bell before the door swung shut once more.

"This is a bad plan." I mused under my breath, exhaling as I pressed one hand against Bumblebee for balance and fiddled with my shoe straps, the wedges now starting to dig into my feet and rub my skin raw. We waited outside for a couple of minutes until Sam got tired of waiting and announced he was going inside so Michaela and I followed him, going into the shop where Leo quickly pointed at the guy behind the counter and urgently yelling.

"It's him! It's him! That's the guy right there! That's him!"

"No." From the look on Sam's face, this could not be the first time these two have met.

"You got to be kidding me." He was much older than the rest of us with greying hair and a hooked nose which sat prominently on his pinched face. I had no idea who this person was as I'd never come across him, but when I sent a puzzled look to Michaela she just pursed her lips and glared slightly towards this so called Robo-Warrior. "Alright, meat store is closed! Everybody out! Out, right now! When he says to go, you go. That means you, lady, right now."

"Wait a minute. You know this guy?"

"We're old friends." Sam responded to Leo as we followed after the deli guy.

"Old friends? You're the case that shut down Sector Seven, got the kibosh, disbanded." Oh I get it, this must be that guy who Sam handcuffed to a pole and Michaela took all his clothes. I heard all about it from them after. He was a real douche, but pulled through in the end from what I heard. "No more security clearance, no retirement, no nothing. All because of you and your little criminal girlfriend. Look at her now, so mature." Okay, so he was still a douchebag. What was this guy's name…Stevens? No, Simmons! I think it was Simmons.

"Moron! Where's the whitefish?"

"Hey! Don't touch me with the pig."

"Yakov! You don't get Christmas bonuses standing around! You want those new teeth you saw on SkyMall? Help her out." Simmons ordered and I glanced around awkwardly, unsure of where to look, what to do or what to say. Quite a comedown, working for a secret government organisation then being reduced to a deli boy.

"You live with your mama?" Michaela asked him a little snidely. Guess things were still raw for her.

"No, my mama lives with me. It's a big difference." Simmons answered back curtly before walking away. "They got your face all over the news, alien boy, and NBE One's still kicking, huh? How did that happen? Don't answer. I don't know what you're hiding, but I don't want anything to do with it. So, goodbye, you never saw me. I got bagels to schmear. Vanish." Simmons was doing his best to usher us out of his shop however Sam was intent on not leaving, holding up his hands and standing his ground.

"Can you give me five seconds? Look, hold on, I need your help. I am slowly losing my mind, okay? I had a little crab-bot plunge a device deep into the soft tissues of my brain and started projecting little alien symbols like a freaking home movie, and on top of that, I'm a wanted fugitive. So, you think you got it rough?" These were rather excellent points, I'd like to say and they seemed to do the trick as Simmons suddenly looked very interested.

"You said it projected images off your brain?"

"Right." There was a brief pause before suddenly he turned around.

"Meat locker, now!" For someone who likes a good hot dog or hamburger, I did not appreciate walking among the food I enjoyed as they hung off their hooks and it smelled vile. How could people live with this every day? I would quit my job the moment I walked in here. "What you're about to see is top secret. Do _not_ tell my mother." Pulling up a trapdoor and descending down a ladder. Michaela and I followed next, Sam holding our hands to help us get down without falling before he and Leo came after us. "Okay, files, files. We're talking about symbols…"

As Simmons muttered to himself I stared around at the hoard of alien evidence and papers, boxes upon boxes of files filling the entire room and stacking up to the ceiling in rather precariously balanced columns. "Okay, Cube-brain. Any of these look like the symbols you saw?" Holding up a paper Sam instantly grabbed it in astonishment and I too recognised the symbols as some of the ones he'd been drawing in his mad fits.

"Where'd you get these?"

"Before I got fired, I poached S-Seven's crown jewel, over seventy five years of alien research, which points to one inescapable fact. The Transformers, they've been here a long, long time. How do I know? Archaeologists found these unexplained markings in ancient ruins all over the world." He dictated to us before beginning to lay out photos and newspaper articles all bearing the same symbols over and over. "China. Egypt. Greece. These the symbols you're seeing in your head?"

"Yeah." This is incredible. These engravings had to have been there for thousands of years already on some of these sites as they weren't discovered until the nineteen hundreds or even later than that. Others looked as if they had been here even longer, from the time of the first Pharaohs.

"Same ones over here, right? So, tell me, how did they end up all drawing the same things? Aliens. And I think some of them stayed. Check this out. Project Black Knife." Picking up one of the files we were shown new photos, only this time they were black and white photos of old cars and planes. "Robots in disguise, hiding here all along. We detected radioactive signatures all across the country. I pleaded on my knees with my superiors to investigate it, but they said the readings were infinitesimal, that I was obsessed. Me. Can you imagine that?" I bit down on my lip and looked away, not wanting to give away my honest opinion, which was yes.

"Megatron said that there was another energon source here. On Earth, okay? These symbols, these maps in my head, are meant to lead him there." Sam explained to Simmons who drew himself up and folded his arms.

"You talk to your Autobot friends about this?"

"No, no, no, the source is before them. Whatever the energon source is, it predates them. It's before them."

"Well, then we're stuck, unless we can talk to a Decepticon." Simmons said with a long sigh. "I mean, I'm not on speaking terms with them."

"Actually, I am." Michaela announced, taking us all by surprise. "Hold on and I'll go get him, maybe he can help us." She went with Sam to go to Bumblebee and retrieve her little friend whom she'd been carrying around in a metal box. The moment they were gone, however, things were a little awkward. We all shifted, glancing at one another without knowing what to say until Simmons turned to me.

"So you're the one who got revived by the big truck, huh?" I blinked, a stab of pain hitting my chest at the mention of his name but I concealed it from my expression carefully.

"Yeah that's me."

"Must be an experience, dying and coming back to life only to find you don't have a pulse anymore." His eyes dropped to my chest as if to try and see something abnormal so I folded my arms and glared at him as Leo suddenly caught on.

"Whoa wait, you died? As in, actually died? What the hell man?"

"It's a long story." At that Simmons snorted, rifling through his papers.

"There's nothing long about it. You destroyed NBE One's core with the Cube along with alien boy then got fried by the aftershock before Optimus Prime revived you with his own power source. How is the truck these days? You two getting along fine?" My eyes bore into his and my silence made him pause and look up to see the hard, stony expression on my face.

"He's dead." That made him falter. For a moment he didn't say anything, just looked at me before inclining his head slightly.

"Sorry to hear that." Okay so maybe he isn't as much of a jerk as I initially thought. Either that or working as a deli boy for two years has humbled him. Either way he didn't push the subject further however Leo was now intrigued, inching closer to me and trying to figure out if anything was odd or different.

"So, you really don't have a pulse? How come? How does that even work?" So with a sigh, I answered his questions just so that he'd leave me alone.

"Energon is the source which keeps the Autobots and the Decepticons alive, kind of like blood and air for us and they have something called a Spark which is like a heart. When I died, Optimus used some of his own energon to bond my heart to his spark, bringing me back. My heart doesn't work the same anymore, see?" I offered him my wrist and he searched for a pulse only to feel a distinct humming vibration instead. "What keeps them alive is now the same thing keeping me alive. It wouldn't have worked if it weren't for the fact that I'd touched the Cube and had spent so much time with them. I was like a radioactive lightning rod."

"Okay I get it, I get it that's cool. Um…what's this Cube thing you guys were talking about?" Begrudgingly I explained that as simply and quickly as I could, bringing Leo up to speed and also told him how to distinguish between an Autobot and a Decepticon with their markings, drawing both insignia for him as well as mentioning Decepticons usually had red eyes. By that point Sam and Michaela had returned, putting the box on the table where inside I could hear a voice yelling.

"Let me out!"

"This is going to be a little bit sad, but be careful." Michaela warned us before opening up the lid and a small Decepticon leaped out with a rush, making me rip myself backwards as it flailed and tried to escape, yelling threateningly at us.

"I will have so many Decepticons on your butts!"

"Hey, behave!" Using a handheld blowtorch as a warning, the Decepticon glared but settled down a little, grabbing at the chain it was bound with and started to chew on it.

"What is it, a Decepticon?"

"Yeah."

"And you're training him?"

"I'm trying to." This little guy looked like Sam's old remote control monster truck. That was way too creepy, I remember playing with that thing when I was a little girl and now it was all red eyed and freaky looking. Crazy, huh?

"I spent my whole adult life combing the planet for aliens and you're carrying around one in your purse like a little Chihuahua." Simmons marvelled, leaning a little closer to get a better look however the mini robot dropped the chain and slowly turned around with a voice full of spunk.

"Do you want a throw down, you pubic 'fro-head?" If this little guy wasn't a Decepticon, I think I would actually like him, the little punk.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry about your eye, you know, but, if you're a good boy, then I'm not gonna torch your other eye. Okay? I'm not gonna torch it. Just tell me what these symbols are, please." Michaela requested sweetly, giving our little pet Decepticon her pretty smile and it blinked at her before gradually conceding.

"Alright." Kneeling down it look down upon all the pictures and files bearing the symbols, carefully analysing them before nodding his head. "I know that. That's the language of the Primes. I don't read it, but these guys..." Picking up one of the photos of the older vehicles, he seemed to stare at them in wonder. "Where the heck did you find photos of these guys?"

"Who are they?" I asked him, making him look up with his one good eye to me so I gave a smile, trying my best to appear friendly. "Do you know who they are?"

"Yeah. Seekers. Oldest of the old. They've been here thousands of years, looking for something. I don't know what. Nobody tells me nothing, but they'll translate those symbols for you, and I know where to find them." Finally, something we could use. This little guy seemed to have all the answers we needed and we had just been carting him around in a box. I felt a little sorry for it, it didn't seem too bad.

"Show us." Turning around, the Decepticon focused on the map of the states on the wall and used green laser lights to pinpoint all the old transformers. Seekers, he'd called them. "The closest one's in Washington."

"Well then." I said, cracking my knuckles and rolling my shoulders. "Guess we're going to Washington. Saddle up guys, we don't have time to mess around anymore. Either get in gear or get left behind."


	18. Chapter 18

I have no idea how we were able to stay out of sight of the government for so long but somehow we made it to Washington and the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum where we were going to find the transformer who should be able to translate the symbols. I had already gone ahead inside, using my smile to charm the guards and looking around the exhibits until closing time where I waited until the coast was clear before I hid myself away, giving the signal for Sam and Michaela to do the same. We waited until the entire museum was deserted before we exited the planes we'd been hiding in and I carefully dropped down, wincing at the loud sound my shoes made before I hurried towards the others.

"We just downed five guards. Five guards." Simmons announced as he reached us. "Get your stuff and get out of here.

"Give me a second here." As Sam fumbled to get the Cube shard, Michaela let out the monster truck Decepticon and even took off the chain so that he could roam freely.

"Be good."

"You know guys, there are a lot of planes in here." I noted to them as I gazed around me at all the exhibits. "I hope that plastic toy of yours works Simmons." He rolled his eyes as he set up his tracker and I stepped back, eyes dropping to the ground where Leo lay twitching on the ground. "What the hell happened to him?"

"Tasered himself by accident. Let's move!" We split up, going around trying to find the right plane however when our little Decepticon transformed and shot off, Sam, Michaela and I followed him until we were standing in front of one of the most impressive jets I had ever seen.

"There he is. This guy's a legend, like the Chairman of the Board!" He stated before pointing ahead as Sam crept closer, ducking under the ropes. "Yo, freshman, point the shard and watch the magic happen." Cautiously Sam held out the shard towards the jet and almost instantly it flew forwards and a rush of energon rippled through it and the energon in my chest thrummed in reaction to the surge in energy before it then dissipated. It sat there in silence, unmoving. Kind of anticlimactic. We surged forwards and searched the surface for a marking however when Michaela found it, it was not good news.

"It's a Decepticon!"

"Decepticon?"

"Oh crap!" Cursing I quickly dove forwards and grabbed onto Simmons and Leo, diving down for cover as the jet started to shift and transform, rising up with creaking parts and a loud grumbling yell as it stood up for the first time in what must have been decades. The little Decepticon we'd brought with us rushed for cover as well but Sam batted it away towards me so I grabbed onto it and pulled it close without thinking, an arm curling around it as we watched the ancient Decepticon fight to move, hindered by its ancient parts and even struggled to push back its helm.

"What sort of hideous mausoleum is this? Answer me, pawns and knaves! Show yourselves or suffer my infinite wrath! You little spinal-cord-based organisms!" Okay, not exactly what I was expecting. He stumbled and staggered like some kind of old man, scattering of rust falling all around him as he knocked against several other displays and broke some of them, making me flinch as we all stood up and slowly walked forwards warily. "Bugger it. Behold the eternal glory of Jetfire!" Jetfire, cool name. "Prepare for remote systems override!"

"I tell you, this guy did not age well."

"Could be you in a couple of years." I noted, not realising that the Decepticon had transformed in my arms and I was now carrying him. Blinking in surprise I paused before shrugging, placing him up on my shoulder for him to sit there and I felt him place a hand on the back of my head for balance as we watched Jetfire head towards the bay doors.

"I command these doors to open. Fire!" For a moment nothing happened so he fiddled with his cannons and attempted again. "I said, fire!" A missile fired but went haywire, shooting off in the opposite direction and exploding elsewhere. Crap! Destroying everything in the museum was not part of the plan! "Bollocks." Jetfire forced his way through the doors and let himself out into the open, forcing us to chase after him as he cursed. "Damn these worthless parts. ltchy, wretched rust in my arse!"

"The museum is going to be very angry. _Very_ angry!"

"Oh gee, you think?" I responded sarcastically to Simmons as we ran, chasing after this old rusted Decepticon who seemed a little senile and confused.

"Right. I'm on a mission."

"Wait, wait, wait, wait!" We all yelled, waving our arms and trying to get Jetfire to look down at us before he wrecked anything else, though as to the latter we had little success. He just didn't seem to care at all about what was around him, focused on this mission or at least trying to remember what it was. "Look, we just want to talk!"

"I have no time to talk. I'm on a mission. I'm a mercenary doom bringer. What planet am I on?" He questioned, bending down so that he face was closer to ours. I found it fascinating how these guys all had such distinctive facial features, signifying their age and uniqueness, they were just as diverse as us humans.

"Earth."

"Earth? Terrible name for a planet. Might as well call it 'Dirt'. Planet 'Dirt'. Tell me, is that robot civil war still going on? Who's winning?" For a Decepticon out of the loop, this one didn't seem so dangerous. If anything he was kind of ridiculous and with Bumblebee and the twins now speeding towards us, I didn't even feel intimidated. He couldn't even fire a missile in the right direction, was there any real reason to fear him?

"The Decepticons."

"Well, I changed sides to the Autobots." Jetfire announced, taking us all by surprise and my head darted up.

"Changed sides? When? Can you do that? Just change sides just because you want to?"

"It's a choice." He answered me honestly, jabbing a finger in my direction. "It's an intensely personal decision. So much negativity. Who wants to live a life filled with hate?" With that being said, I think I like this guy even more. Who doesn't love a crotchety old grandpa who swears and insults everyone?

"You mean you don't have to work for those miserable, freaking Decepticons?" The little guy on my shoulder demanded to know in wonder.

"If Decepticons had their way, they'd destroy the whole universe." Jetfire stated bluntly and before I knew it he had jumped off my shoulder and glided over to Michaela, practically throwing himself upon her leg and grabbed on like his life depended on it.

"I'm changing sides. I'm changing sides, too, warrior goddess. Who's your little Autobot?" Now I've seen some weird things since first meeting the Autobots and discovering that there was alien life out there, but nothing more so than watching a little Decepticon humping Michaela's leg. "Name's Wheelie. Say my name, say my name!"

"What are you allowing to happen to your foot just now?" Sam demanded and Michaela gave him a cheeky smirk as I hid my eyes from what was going on. I am never going to get rid of that image so long as I live, dear god that was disturbing.

"At least he's faithful, Sam."

"Yeah, well, he's faithful and he's nude and he's perverted. Can you just…can you stop?" Giving Wheelie a kick away from Michaela Sam turned back to Jetfire, yelling a little louder so he could hear. "What were you saying?" Without warning the huge cane was smashed into the ground, causing the shock to our knees to buckle them and I fell onto my back with a grunt as Jetfire yelled.

"I told you my name was Jetfire, so stop judging me. I have issues of my own, and it started with my mother! My ancestors have been here for centuries. My father, he was a wheel, the first wheel. Do you know what he transformed into? Nothing! But he did so with honour, dignity, damn it!" In his excitement, Jetfire suddenly released a burst of gas from his rear along with a parachute which burst outwards and opened up with the breeze, causing him to lose his balance and crash backwards with a yell, the boom deafening as we all raced to get to him. "Bollocks. My boosters are fried." As Jetfire managed to lift himself up and turn on his side, Sam looked him dead in the eye and tried to negotiate.

"I think we can help each other. You know things I don't know. I know things you don't know, I do." Having caught his attention, Sam began to carve the symbols into the ground in two perfect circles, using one of Simmons's knives to cut into the soft soil. "I could do this all day. It comes in waves, these vivid symbols. They're symbols, but they're in my mind, you see, all this is in my mind and Megatron wants what's in my mind. Him and someone called the Fallen."

"The Fallen? I know him. He left me here to rust. The original Decepticon. He's terrible to work for. It's always apocalypse, chaos, crisis." Jetfire explained as he inspected the symbols closely. "These transcriptions, they were part of my mission, the Fallen's search. I remember now, the Dagger's Tip, and the key!" All this was good but he wasn't talking clearly, these were just a bunch of words that made no sense to us.

"Slow down. The Dagger's Tip? The key? What are you talking about?"

"No time to explain. Hold on, everybody!" Jetfire suddenly yelled and crouched over us with his hands forming a barrier around us and the sudden burst of pressure and energy took me by surprise, a strong metallic taste rising from my throat as I yelled and grabbed onto Michaela as she hunched over, Wheelie launching himself forwards and latching onto my leg. "Stay still or you'll die!" Not exactly words you want to hear, especially since in the next moment you felt yourself being tossed through the skies.

I saw open blue and that was it, staring before I began to drop and I screamed out loud, flailing my arms as I was flipped over and managed to see an expanse of sand and a tall rising of rocks everywhere into cliffs. "Bumblebee!" My scream for help was desperate as I fell, the wind ripping at my face and I instinctively closed my eyes and shielded my face as I rushed to meet the ground but then I heard him call out to me and I felt his hands curl around me as he jumped, tucking me into him and instantly I clung onto him, releasing a relieved sigh as he landed on his feet. "Thank you Bee." I said and gave his chest armour a pat, staying still for a moment. "I'm okay now, you can put me down."

Setting me on the sand I teetered for a moment, trying to find my balance in my wedges as I looked around, seeing people starting to appear as we shouted to one another, making sure everybody was okay. "Sammy!"

"Hel! Hel over here!"

"Come on Bee." I waved my hand and started to run forwards however Bumblebee walked past me with his massive strides and scooped me up again, making me squeak in surprise before he deposited me on his shoulder to carry me to the others as Jetfire picked himself up whilst Simmons ground into him.

"That really, really hurt. You're just lucky that I didn't get hurt! People could have gotten killed, okay? And if I would have gotten hurt, you would have heard from my…"

"Aw shut up." Jetfire cut across him, thrusting his face at Simmons before straightening up as much as his curved spine would allow. "I told you I was opening a space bridge. It's the fastest way to travel to Egypt." Whoa wait a second, Egypt? We're in _Egypt_? And what the heck is a space bridge? This crazy sci-fi story is getting more messed up by the second. I can't believe I literally just space travelled. I mean, of course I didn't go to a different planet or anything but still, not everybody can say they've gone from Washington to Egypt in just a few seconds.

"When did you…when did you tell us? You didn't tell us anything! Why are we in Egypt?!" Sam demanded to know, yelling up at Jetfire who snorted.

"Don't you get snippy with me, fleshling! You were duly informed!"

"Can you just stop for a second? Can you focus? Can you tell us why we're in Egypt so we can all have a little bit of semblance of peace of mind?" Trying to calm the situation down Sam lowered his tone and Jetfire contemplated him for a moment before beginning to explain everything from the beginning. I remained perched on Bee's shoulder, feeling hot under the baking sun so I stripped down to my shirt, glad I was wearing shorts and not jeans.

"This planet was visited by our race once before by our earliest ancestors, millennia ago. They were on an exploratory mission to harvest energon, the lifeblood of our race. Without it, we'll all perish, oxidize and rust, like my wretched self!" Yelling in frustration, parts of Jetfire fell from him as he ripped at his degrading form. "Do you have any idea what it's like to slowly fall apart and die?" Seeing that we were getting off track again, Simmons lifted a hand.

"Let's not get episodic, okay, old timer? Beginning, middle, end. Facts. Details. Condense. Plot. Tell it." Well, can't get much simpler than that, can we?

"Somewhere buried in this desert, our ancestors built a great machine. It harvests energon by destroying suns." Hold up and back up, destroying suns? Entire suns? You mean to say that on earth, on our little planet, there is a machine that can destroy our entire solar system? Holy…no wonder Megatron is so desperate to get his hands on Sam. With a weapon like that, he would be the undisputed ruler of…well. Everything.

"Destroy suns? You mean blow them up?"

"Yes. You see, in the beginning, there were seven Primes, our original leaders. They set out into the universe seeking distant suns to harvest. The Primes set out with one rule, never destroy a planet with life, until one of them tried to defy this rule." Jetfire narrated and I tried to picture seven transformers like Optimus, proud and noble unlike anything else. "And his name forevermore was the Fallen. He despised the human race and he wanted to kill you all by turning on that machine. The only way to activate it is with a legendary key called the Matrix of Leadership. A great battle took place over possession of the Matrix. The Fallen was stronger than his brothers, so they had no choice but to steal and hide it from him. In the ultimate sacrifice, they gave their lives to seal the Matrix away in a tomb made of their very own bodies, a tomb we cannot find. Somewhere, buried in this desert, that deadly machine remains. The Fallen knows where it is and if he finds the tomb of the Primes, your world will be no more."

"Wait a second, why does the Fallen hate us humans so much? What did we ever do to him?" I asked with a frown. "If he's this all powerful being, why bother with a planet like ours?"

"No one knows the reason for the Fallen's hate, only that it was powerful enough to lead him to betray his brothers. If the Fallen activates this machine then your world, as well as all the worlds in this galaxy will be doomed." No pressure then.

"Okay, so how do we stop him?"

"Only a Prime can defeat the Fallen." The word caused me to freeze in place, my vision going a little out of focus as I drifted into my mind and thought about Optimus as Sam spoke his name. My fingers clenched more firmly onto Bumblebee, making him turn his head slightly to look at my pained expression. "So, you've met a Prime? Why, you must have met a great descendant. Is he alive, here on this planet?" Jetfire asked in excitement however Sam did not feel the same joy.

"He sacrificed himself to save me." The light seemed to wither away from Jetfire, his shoulders sagging and his head sinking.

"So, he's dead. Without a Prime, it's impossible. No one else could stop the Fallen."

"This same energy that's gonna be used to reactivate the machine, could that energy somehow be used to reactivate Optimus and bring him back to life?" Sam suddenly questioned and it pulled me from my reverie, sitting upright and looking to Jetfire as a small bud of hope bloomed. If we could bring Optimus back, then we'd stand a better chance of defeating Megatron and the Fallen. If we could bring him back…well, I would give anything just to see him one more time.

"It was never designed for that purpose, but it's an energy like no other."

"So, then how do you get us to the Matrix before the Decepticons get to me?"

"Follow your mind, your map, your symbols. What you carved in the sand, it's your clue!" Jetfire responded urgently, poking at Sam before beginning to recite the words we had been unable to read. "When dawn alights the Dagger's Tip, Three Kings will reveal the doorway! Find the doorway! Go now! Go! That was my mission. It's your mission now. Go before the Decepticons find me and find you." We wasted no time in doing as he said, jumping down and running to get out of this bleak place. Of course we couldn't all fit comfortably in one car so I volunteered to go with one of the twins.

"Alright, alright, alright! Let's get this _on_." Skids whooped as I slid into the driver's seat of his bright green and black car mode. "We goin' treasure huntin'!"

"Dude, why you get the chick?" Mudflap complained as we took off, the brothers communicating with one another even as we drove.

"Because she knows quality when she see's it, bruh."

"Hey guys? Can you keep it down for a little while please? I'm going to try and sleep so I'd appreciate a little quiet, just until I'm asleep." I requested them gently, giving a small smile at their bickering. "if anything happens wake me up or if you hear any news. Otherwise, I'm going to get some shut eye."

"Yo good idea, we been running for our lives and you ain't got no sleep." They agreed and reduced their voices to incessant whispers but it was enough for me to relax and close my eyes. I was in desperate need of the sleep though I wasn't too keen on the dreams. Bright flashes of orange fire and a dark expanse of nothing which swallowed me up even as I screamed, a voice yelling my name. Optimus. It felt so wrong to be cut off from him like this, to carry this block of ice inside me so intense that not even this Egyptian sun was warming me up, only my skin.

The twins kept in line behind Bumblebee however when I suddenly felt us taking sharp corners I jerked awake and heard the wailing of sirens behind us. "Crap!" Quickly I straightened up and pressed my hands against the side of the car and into the seat to maintain balance, blinking away the sand which was kicked up. We got out of sight of the cops then hurriedly disappeared, Bumblebee and the twins transforming in order to disappear with us and they hung off the side of a building in order to avoid being detected. How did they find us? What happened?

"Man, stupid cops!" Skids complained as Bumblebee held onto his foot to keep him from falling out into the open, suspended in the air.

"This is what's called blending in like a ninja."

"Shut up or I'll blend my fist in your face."

"Enough you two." I ordered them quietly, my back pressed against the wall and listening as the sirens grew fainter the further they went away from us. "How the hell were we tracked out here? If anything we should be well off the radar, there aren't any cameras, video feed, we didn't go through customs or use transportation." Turning around I looked at Simmons's guilty face. "Anything you want to tell me?"

"I may have contacted a friend in the CIA for information about the Dagger's Tip. It must have been noticed that I'm with you fugitives now." I ran a hand down my face then pushed it through my hair, taking a deep breath to stay calm. How long can we keep this up? With the whole world hunting us, someone is bound to recognise our faces at some point.

"Okay, we're running out of time. I gotta make the call to Lennox." Sam announced, walking forwards as we tried to regroup.

"You're on the Worldwide Wanted List. Try calling one base, they'll track you here in seconds. CIA is all over this place!" Simmons reminded us all frantically, waving his arms about as Bumblebee, Mudflap and Skids all got down, the twins bickering between them once more.

"You're gonna call." Stopping in place our former Sector Seven friend blinked then inclined his head.

"Okay. That's a good idea. Alright. I mean, I just had my mind on other things, like winding up in an Egyptian prison." At this point, that was the least of our worries. After making the call to Lennox we all got out of there as fast as we could to avoid detection, hitting the open road. Where sand and dust billowed behind us, the wide open sky filling my gaze as my eyes shifted in colour, unsettled and constantly changing. Pray god let this work, please.


	19. Chapter 19

We drove for hours on end through Egypt and across Jordan, passing through a checkpoint and it wasn't until we were at the pyramids that Sam figured out where it was we needed to go. The mountains of Petra. When we finally found a huge site which was built into the rock face of the mountains, we reasoned that this had to be the place. The grand open doorway was large enough that Bumblebee could walk inside with room to spare. It was incredible, however the disappointment of seeing nothing but a single, empty chamber was enough to make me sink to the ground and hang my head in my hands.

"It's here somewhere, guys."

"Yeah, why? Because we're trusting Grandpa Blackbird who doesn't even know what planet he's on?" Leo demanded sceptically, as frustrated and tired as the rest of us felt.

"In his defence, this is the biggest doorway I've ever seen in my entire life." Simmons noted as he gazed up at it.

"Okay. Well, that's great. Let me do a quick search, all right?" Spinning around sarcastically Leo scanned the room before continuing. "Nope. Ever cross your mind, guys, that archaeologists have been here before? There's nothing here!"

"Real life is heartbreak, despair, kid. Sometimes you get to the end of the rainbow and the leprechauns went and booby-trapped it!"

"I'm listening to you? You live with your mother!" As Simmons and Leo argued, Sam lifted his head from where he sat beside me with our shoulders leaning against one another. I was as desperate to find this Matrix as he was and although it might make me seem like an idiot, I was still clinging to the hope that there was still something more. Something we had missed, there just had to be _something_.

"It's not over."

"Why are we still listening to you, little punk ass?" Mudflap demanded, flicking his hands away at us as he stalked about the room. "I mean, what you ever done for us except ding my rim?"

"Killed Megatron. How about that?" Skids answered in Sam's defence as I curled my arms through his and rested my chin there, trying to reassure him somehow without having to speak.

"Well, he didn't get the job done, you know what I mean, 'cause he's back now."

"Are you scared?"

"Scared? Scared of your ugly face!"

"I'm ugly? Well, we're twins, you stupid genius!" The twins' argument broke out into a fight, one that meant they stomped their rather large feet all over the place and everyone yelled for them to stop, leaping out of the way as they scrapped and wrestled with one another. When Skids started to swing Mudflap around, both Sam and I yelled before diving out of the way, Mudflap being slammed against the wall and I heard a distinctive crack. That could have been my head. As the confusion of yelling, crashing and smashing continued I was glad for Bumblebee when he caught both twins by the back of their necks, slammed their heads together then tossed them outside one after the other.

"Helen." Hearing Sam call for me I lifted my head from where I was crouched to see him holding his hand over a crack in the wall which Mudflap had created. Instantly I was by his side, Simmons right on my tail. Lifting my hand I felt the same thing Sam did, a breeze, or rather the sensation of air being sucked inside. "Here, help me with this." Together we peeled back the wall ripping off an entire chunk to reveal what looked like massive claws with the Cybertronian symbols engraved upon the metal. "This is it, these are the symbols. Bee! Shoot it." Sam grabbed my hand and pulled me away so that Bee could blast a way inside, all of us getting back a safe distance but when the dust cleared, we each climbed inside.

Immediately I felt a rush of reverence come over me, the ancient tomb somehow impacting upon my entire being. These were the original Primes, Optimus's ancestors and the energon inside me recognised them, humming a little more intensely and an eerie blue glow rose from my chest, only visible due to the darkness of the tomb. What's more, my eyes began to pick out each inscription upon the Primes, each one becoming highlighted and flashing in front of me as I located each one almost like a computer system. I gasped, stumbling a little but I maintained my balance and blinked, rubbing my head and covering my chest with a hand so that nobody would notice.

"These are the bodies Jetfire was talking about." Sam murmured reverently as we all gazed around until our flashlights fell upon an elegant object laying upon the palm of one of the Primes. The metallic structure was small in comparison to these beings, the delicate silver framework wrapping around large, round blue crystal. "The Matrix." Breathing in awe I watched with baited breath as Sam reached out for it slowly, taking it in the very tips of his fingers to lift it up and a swell of relief and success flared through me, however my thoughts of victory were crushed when the Matrix turned to dust. "No!" We were all silent and as I stared, I struggled to even comprehend what had happened.

"Thousands of years, turned to dust." It can't be dust. It just can't be! It looked fine, it was in perfect condition! How could it just turn to dust like that? Was it the air pressure? Oxidation? How can it…why? Why does it have to be like this?!

"This isn't how it's supposed to end." Inside the tomb we heard the rush of an aeroplane overhead, drawing Simmons and Leo away as I reached out a trembling hand and gripped onto Sam's shoulder, feeling weak and rather nauseous but still trying to act tough and strong for Sam's sake as he grasped at the dust desperately.

"Sammy…it's gone."

"You can't bring him back, Sam. There's nothing left."

"Look! Look around you." He reasoned, rising quickly to his feet so I snatched my hand away and watched as he turned to gesture to the Primes. "We didn't just go through everything we went through for no reason at all, to just have it end like this. There is a reason that we are here. The voices and the symbols in my head led us here for a purpose." Determined eyes turned back to the pile of dust and I wondered what it was that was pushing Sam forwards when even I had lost all hope. The Matrix was dust and Optimus was gone, nothing could change those facts. "Everyone's after me because of what I know, and what I know is that this is going to work." Sam insisted as he poured the dust particles of the Matric into his sock.

"How do you know it's gonna work?" Michaela asked him quietly as he persisted, not stopping until he had gathered up every speck he could grab.

"Because I believe it." With an air of confidence Sam climbed out of the tomb so I gave Michaela a glance before we followed after him, jogging to keep up as he stormed past Simmons who was looking towards where they were dropping Optimus from the carrier.

"You think you can bring him back to life with that pixie dust?"

"Absolutely. Let's go." None of us questioned him. At this point we had nothing to lose so all we could do was get into the cars and drive towards where we'd seen the drop go down. Even if this didn't work, I wanted to see Optimus again, maybe say a proper goodbye to him. The coldness in my chest started to spread across my body, making me shiver relentlessly whilst we were on the road, driving and driving until finally I noticed the flare rising ahead.

"That's it, that's the location. You twins see that?"

"Yeah we got it, we got it, don't sweat it. _Cherry_." Skids snickered as Mudflap responded with sarcasm at his twin, basically telling him to shut up but I was taken aback.

"How do you know that's my nickname? Only Jazz calls me cherry." I asked them both so Mudflap answered first, cutting across his brother.

"'Cause you are all he ever talks about, we know all about you."

"Yo bro, that just sounds creepy like you been stalking her or summin'." Skids noted and the two started arguing but I hardly heard them. I had missed Jazz so much it was unreal and now that the twins had mentioned him, I missed him all the more. I hope he's there too, I want nothing more than to just run and jump on him and let him make me laugh or at least feel a little better. All this grief really sucks ass. "Wow! Incoming!" Alarmed by the twins' sudden yell they both swerved away from incoming missile fire which blew up the sides of the roads, slightly off target as we continued to drive forwards.

"What the hell?! Who was that?"

"Who else it gonna be you moron? It's them Decepticons!"

"Enough with the fighting you two! Just focus on driving and not getting blown up!" I yelled at them both, gripping onto my seat for balance as we took a turn and ended up in some construction site. Turning around in my seat I stuck my head out the window and looked back, searching the skies but could see nothing, however that wasn't to say that the Decepticons weren't there. I'm placing my bets on Starscream. That slimy coward. Sure enough the moment I sat back, there he was, landing on the ground and blasting at us. It happened so suddenly I released a screech, throwing up my arms to shield my head as large dust clouds burst upwards and surrounded us, obscuring our vision.

Using the dust cloud we were able to get away from Starscream for the time being, however we only had a small window so the moment we pulled up I jumped out of Skids and ran over to Michaela and Sam. "We've got to split up. Bumblebee, you're the decoy. You lead the Decepticons away, alright? I'm gonna get Optimus." He was saying as I reached them, my hand running over the roof of Bumblebee's exterior.

"I'll help draw their fire with Huey and Dewey there. You get to those soldiers." Simmons decided, making us all look to him in surprise. I thought he was just the type of guy who did office work, not fieldwork when he was an agent. At least, that's what the piles upon piles of research notes and files locked underneath his mother's deli told me. "I hope that dust works, kid."

"Thank you." Sam nodded, linking hands with Michaela before turning and started to run. I quickly stuck my head inside the window, gripping onto Bee securely.

"You be careful Bee, come back to us safe and sound." I told him, brushing my hand against his hood then ran after Sam and Michaela, my hair catching the sunlight so that the bright copper red stood out against the pale dusty sand. It was easy enough for me to catch up with the two of them and the moment I was level Michaela reached out her hand and grabbed mine so that we pulled each other along, heading towards the trail of smoke in the sky from the remains of the flare.

Soon we were thirsty from the dry air, sand stuck at the back of our throats and our legs aching from struggling against the sand as we ascended a sloping sand dune which reached its zenith overlooking a valley where an old village lay with ruined columns and newer buildings handmade by the residents. "Look. There it is. We got a couple of miles." Sam pointed as more flares went up into the sky.

"Be careful, it's steep here." I warned as I looked down over the edge. "We better go back this way, it's a little more even and easier to get down." Leading the other two I followed a winding path to take us down the cliff as quickly as we could, warning them for any loose rocks or pockets of sand and let Michaela hold my hand to help her balance in more difficult areas as Sam brought up the rear. We ran and ran even when we had no breath left, though the other two seemed to lose energy much faster than I did, the energon in my body allowing me to keep on pushing forwards so I encouraged them, keeping them moving as we covered mile after mile until we finally reached the village. It was a little more difficult to keep our bearings once we were within the ruins, however we did not let that stop us.

Sam went on ahead with Michaela, holding her hand securely as I checked to make sure nothing was following us, but that cautiousness was soon proved useless. Loud booming thuds rung in my ears, causing the sand to shift underneath us as huge meteors came rushing down from the sky and bombarded the city. The Decepticons were here. "Keep running Sam, don't stop!" We started to run faster, survival instincts kicking in and we head for the buildings to try and find some cover.

"Sam, Helen." Michaela whispered, opening up a door to someone's house and we all moved inside, closing the door firmly but quietly and moving with silent steps as we heard the Decepticons outside move in on our location.

"I don't think they saw us." Sam whispered, gazing around but neither of us moved until we heard louder footsteps right outside and he quickly dropped. "Get down. Get down. Get down." I crouched down and crawled over to the wall to where Michaela sat, pressing my back against the wall and listening carefully to outside, trying to count how many Decepticons were but with the mass of footsteps, all I could tell you was that there were a lot. "Okay. Listen. Once it's clear, we run for Optimus as fast as we can, okay?"

"What if it doesn't work?"

"It's gonna work."

"What if it doesn't?" Michaela persisted but Sam continued in confidence.

"It's gonna work. It'll work." We went quiet after that as the wall filled with glass bottles became dark from the figure of a Decepticon right outside. Covering her mouth with her hands, Michaela tried not to cry and panic so I reached out and placed my arm around her, letting he huddle against me as I tensed, ready to move. Sam picked up a poker from the ground and poked a hole in the wall with it, looking outside to try and find an opening. I can't believe we're all risking our lives for a sock full of dust.

The sound of a high pitched buzzing sound caught my attention so I looked across to Sam, watching as he picked something out of the hole and hold it between his fingers. My god, is that a Decepticon fly? Jesus, we are so dead. Pinching the head between his thumb and forefinger Sam pulled the tiny bug like Decepticon apart then dropped it to the ground. All was silent and I allowed myself to let go of the breath I had been holding unintentionally.

Without warning the roof was suddenly ripped away, making all of scream out of fright and I was swiftly on my feet and running with Michaela, heading away from the menacing loom of Starscream as he lunged for Sam. "Go, go, go!" Sam yelled and we were running, heading up in order to try and escape but when we reached the end of the building, there was no other place to go. "Get ready to jump!"

"Like we have a choice!" I snapped back, increasing my pace then took the first leap, holding back a scream as my arms whirled around me and I watched as the opposite rooftop rushed to meet me however as we just reached halfway, Starscream blew up the entire house and the force of the blast slammed into our backs, pushing us an unnecessarily larger distance forwards and we crashed into the roof, rolled over the edge and landed heavily in the sand. "Up!" I commanded, jumping to my feet and brushing off the bruised feeling of my arms and legs. "Hurry!" Herding Michaela and Sam to their feet we took off once more, alarm and panic coursing through our veins as we ran to a shelter which overlooked the distant columns where we could see the battle raging and the sounds of bullets slicing through the air brought back memories of Mission City.

"We got a half a mile. I don't think the soldiers know we're here."

"But they'll be expecting us, but so will the Decepticons so we have to be fast. There are way more of them this time and I'm not liking our chances much." I said sceptically, all of us catching our breath before darting forwards once more. Soon enough we were focused on simply keeping pace with one another, each keeping a careful look out for any incoming Decepticons but for the time being, we seem to be in the clear.

"Sam!" A small voice in the distance made us all lift our heads, frowning in recognition as his name was called out again. "Sam!" Oh no, this was not good.

"Dad!" How in hell did Ron and Judy get here? Don't tell me the Decepticons brought them here, those dirty playing scrap heaps. They were running towards us, waving their arms wildly and I was rather surprised to see how fast Ron could run however my silent wonder was short lived as a Decepticon leaped over one of the buildings upon a spring, long whips protruding from its arms and we all screamed, yelled and panicked. I lunged for Michaela, grasping her around the waist and tackled her to the ground as one of those whips lashed at the air above and missed us by bare inches.

"Wait, wait!" Sam yelled over the noise as Michaela and I scrambled back, Judy and Ron trapped underneath the Decepticon who loomed over them threateningly. "Please listen to me!"

"I want you to run! Run!" Ron was yelling however Sam was trying to communicate to them that they weren't the danger, however Ron wasn't one for listening even at the best of times. Still, it was heart warming to know that Ron was thinking first and foremost of his son's safety before anything else.

"Dad, just stop! They don't want you, they want me!" Waving his arms to get the Decepticon's attention before it could accidentally crush his parents, Sam stood way out in the open as it turned to face him with beady red eyes which glowed like molten fire. "Don't hurt them. This is what you want. You don't want them." Lifting up the sock I bit my lip as Michaela and I clung to one another, fingers digging in tightly to one another's flesh as we waited and watched to see how this would unfold. To prove its point, the Decepticon lashed out at Judy and Ron once more, sparking off their fear filled panic.

"Go! Go!"

"Please, stop! Stop!"

"Listen to your father!"

"Just don't hurt them." Sam pleaded as both his parents shouted for him to leave at the top of their lungs. Amidst all the confusion, I heard something give a quiet whistle and Sam turned his head slightly to look at someone behind him. Please tell me that's someone who can save our asses, please. "I know what you want. I know that you need me because I know about the Matrix. Here's what you want, right here." It all happened so swiftly that I barely had time to register the fact that Bumblebee had flipped down from the rooftop and drop kicked the Decepticon in the face.

Bee looked more awesome than ever before fighting that Decepticon and I was sorry I couldn't sit back and enjoy the show but unfortunately, we smaller and more delicate humans are better targets when we sit still. I crawled through the sand, fumbling a little to try and stay out of the way before finally I'd reached Ron and Judy. "Come on Mrs Judy, Mr Ron, you gotta move. Follow me!" I pulled them further back towards a beaten down car. We all hunkered down, barely daring to lift our heads until finally things were settled.

Immediately I looked up, seeing Bumblebee standing above the totalled wreck of the Decepticon he had literally ripped apart as well as another one that resembled a giant feline. Or at least in parts. "Bumblebee." Overwhelmed and exhausted but glad to see he was alright I picked my way across to him, stepping carefully over the remains to place my hand upon his leg and lean my forehead against him. "Thank god." Bee hummed softly with his mechanical voice, kneeling down and very carefully lifting my head with one of his fingers under my chin so I smiled and gripped onto it, looking up into his eyes. "You're my hero Bee. Thanks for coming back for us."

At that his chest swelled with pride and he made some rather boastful gestures, flexing his arms and I chuckled quietly at his antics before heavy fire started to rain down in the surrounding area, immediately snapping Bumblebee back into battle mode and his arm stretched across me as a shield, warding me back with his hand so I turned and fled with Sam, his parents and Michaela. We stumbled and floundered, seemingly trapped on all sides with nowhere safe to go as everywhere was a warzone. "I don't know what's going on, but we've got to move! There's got to be a way out of here!" Ron was yelling, running back and forth before grabbing at his wife and holding her close. "Judy, get back, get back!"

"Against the wall. Against the wall!" Sam called, gathering everyone back to him and with a fleeting thought I noted how similar he was in his quirks to his father. "Bee! Bumblebee!" Bumblebee appeared, poking his head over an archway as he covered our backs. "You get them somewhere safe, alright?" He instructed our friendly yellow robot as I stood with my back pressed against the wall, my knees shaking and salt rubbing into my skin from my drying sweat. "You've got to get in the car and get to safety."

"No, this isn't up for discussion! You're my son! We all go together! We're all going together!" in contrast to Ron's shouting and fearful panic, Sam remained perfectly calm as he gripped onto his dad and tried to reason with him, betraying none of his innermost feelings whilst Ron wore his on his sleeve.

"Dad, stop, okay? Get in the car. He's gonna get you to safety. You know, you run. You don't stop, you don't hide, you run. You hear what I'm saying, okay? I'll find you when you're safe." Ron shook his head, not accepting it but Sam continued, not willing to give up now. "You've got to let me go, Dad. You have to let me go. You have to."

"Ron." To my surprise it was Judy who spoke up with understanding and sense, gripping onto Ron's sleeve as she stood at Sam's side. "Ron. Ron, let him go." Torn and obviously tormented, Ron finally gripped onto Sam with all his might as a means to try and convey his emotions.

"You come back! Come on." Together, he and Judy went to Bumblebee who transformed for them, however when Sam tried to get Michaela and I to leave as well we refused, stating blankly that we were all in this together and we were not leaving him, not now. All we seemed to be doing today was running and I swear I'll be as fir as a track star after this, but running was kind of necessary for survival as everywhere there were Decepticons and explosions of missiles and bullets everywhere.

"Sam!"

"Ironhide!" We all waved and called out to Ironhide, relieved to see a friendly face as three smaller Autobots came towards us and I was surprised when one of them spoke with a female's voice.

"Follow us to the pillars. We'll take you to Optimus." No sooner had she spoken the rain grew thick and heavy, taking her out and I shrieked in horror as I watched her drop like a stone to the ground, jumping violently and covering my mouth but had no time to process anything as Sam grabbed me by the arm and yanked me forwards as Ironhide yelled over the roars of war.

"Get out, Sam! Get to the pillars!" The pillars weren't far off, Optimus must be on the other side. This was it, the last stretch. It was all we could do to stay on our feet with so many disturbances and bursts of vibrations going on around us but somehow we managed, hurtling towards the pillars whereby Sam pulled off his jacket and waved it, yelling to get the attention of the soldiers on the other side. One fire strike was so strong it knocked us to the ground and we kept our heads low, pinned down and unable to move without getting blown to pieces.

Finally the soldiers started to move in with a heavy cover fire providing us the window to move forwards where we spotted Lennox waving us towards him so we bolted, his hand stretched out and grabbing onto us in turn as we reached his position. "Come on! Get in here!" I hit the ground the moment I'd cleared the corner, gasping for air as we took shelter. "Look who showed up. You better have a good reason for us to be here."

"Where's Optimus?" Sam demanded, ignoring Lennox's dry comment as he then pointed some hundred metres or so away from us. He was covered up but I could still see part of his foot exposed and as I looked at him, my hand strayed into my pocket and I pulled out the cog that I'd picked up from the ground, turning it over in my hand almost like a good luck charm.

"He's right over there, across the courtyard."

"I got to get to him right now."

"Not with an air strike coming." Lennox shook his head but Sam repeated himself more urgently this time, but before Lennox could respond we heard a Decepticon move in closer to us and its barrel gun situated itself over the wall right above our heads, firing upon Lennox's men and the heavy artillery tanks. "Go. Back, back, back, back." We held our breath, none of us dare moving in case we were noticed. If miracles were a thing, then I'd say that what happened next could not be explained any other way as the last person we expected to see in the entire world flew down from the skies and crashed into the ground with an obnoxious yell.

"Incoming! Behold the glory of Jetfire!" The old jet, crooked and rusting as he was, grabbed onto the Decepticon and literally ripped off its head, using his cane as a means to stab through its chest and brought it down as effortlessly as if he were several decades younger whilst trumpeting at the top of his voice. "Now let me show you how we brought the pain in my day!" I allowed myself to relax a little, easing the tenseness away from my shoulders or spine but we still did not move as another Decepticon erupted from the ground like a scorpion and crawled all over Jetfire, tearing at his rusting parts and leaving him full of gaping holes until he threw it to the ground and crushed its head with his cane, grumbling as he fell to one knee. "I'm too old for this crap."

"We're gonna make a break through on my command, okay? You guys stick with me, you understand? You stay on my ass." Lennox ordered us and all three of us nodded our heads, too tired to talk. Sure, what's a few hundred metres more? Easy as pie.

"I hope these F-16s got good aim." Epps noted as we waited for the signal to go, crouched and ready to push forwards at any moment.

"Yeah? Why is that?"

"I told them to hit the orange smoke." Wait. What? Orange smoke? Does he mean the orange smoke cloud which was growing bigger and bigger right next to us? "It wasn't my best toss, okay?" This was turning out to be a day even worse than Mission City and I thought a day like that was impossible. Suddenly both Epps and Lennox yelled for us to run so we sprang forwards and bolted for our lives, just as the airstrike began its run, releasing their wrath upon the target smoke and it felt like my ears were being blown up on the inside of my skull and I would never again be able to hear anything except the deafening thunder of battle.

"Sam!" My head turned as I ran, the name pulling my attention away from where I was focusing ahead to see Sam break off from the rest of us and run more directly for Optimus instead. Fear gripped at my heart and it gave a strong thrum in my chest, energon coursing through my veins and I chased after him, trying to catch up to him in time so that he wouldn't be alone. I ran after him, staring at his back as the airstrike continued to bomb down upon the Decepticons, plumes of sand and smoke rising up into the air.

"Sammy wait!" I shouted to him, stretching out my hand however before I could reach him, before I could even grab hold of him, a huge black shape cut through the smoke and fired a plasma blast directly at Sam and I screamed in horror and desperation, as if I could cause the world to crack and time to freeze with the power of my voice but it did not stop the blast from striking the ground and consuming Sam, launching him into the air as I was also caught in the force of the aftershock, crashing into the sand.

"Hold your fire!" Lennox was shouting as I blinked, bright spots appearing before my vision before I shook them off and searched for Sam, breathing erratically until finally I spotted him. Like a lightning bolt I was moving, racing across the sand and grasping a hold of his body, trying to shake him awake as Michaela reached us also. "Stay back! Helen, Mikaela, stay back!"

"Do something!" She screamed and grasped at her hair as Lennox checked for breathing, and a pulse before starting with chest compressions whilst I just knelt there uselessly, unable to think or do anything except stare at my best friend's face which was motionless. "Sam! Sam!" The medic team rushed to Sam's side and before I knew it someone was pulling me off him.

"No! Let me go! I need to be with him! Let me go!"

"Come on, you got to move. You got to move, come on." I screamed, howling at the top of my lungs as I kicked and struggled, writhing to try and break free but the guy was too strong and simply lifted me off the ground to pull me away as they tried to bring Sam back to life. He can't be dead, he can't be. I can't lose my Sam, not after all this. It can't end this way, it mustn't! Sammy…my best friend…not my Sammy…

When the medics gave up with the resuscitation I screamed again, yelling at them for giving up too soon but really, I just wanted an outlet for my grief and screaming helped to drown out the voices in my head and blocked out the truth that he was gone. I fought against those who restrained me as my movements became so violent that someone else had to help the first guy to restrain me, trying to pin my hands behind my back and push me into the ground so that I wouldn't hurt anyone or myself but I was too out of control and as the torrential emotions built higher and higher until I felt someone place a hand upon my back and I went perfectly still.

"I got you cherry, I got you." Jazz. My sweet Jazz. "It's gonna be okay, I got you. You're safe now." The soft crooning of his voice lulled me into a docile state like the purring of a cat, his hands curling underneath me and lifting me up into his arms as he crouched down, holding me against him and I felt everything become infinitely better and devastatingly worse at the same time. "I'm sorry cherry, I'm sorry I left you. I shouldn't have done, I promise I won't ever let you down again."

"Jazz, Jazz…they're gone. They're both _gone_." I gripped onto him for all I was worth and Jazz pulled back away from Sam as Michaela dropped to her knees and sobbed over him, demanding that he come back to her and telling him that she loved him. The hot sand made my mouth and throat become dry and rough and I was beginning to give way to my emotions when suddenly I felt a burst of energon. It sang through the air and reached my ears like a crystal clear note with underlying vibrations, inaudible to anyone else and my head shot up, taking Jazz by surprise and when I turned my head, I saw Sam jerk into life. "Sammy…" How…? No, I'm not going to ask. I'm just going to be grateful to whatever power in the universe brought him back to us. That's all that matters right now.

Scrambling down from Jazz's arms I ran to him, pushing my way through the soldiers as he staggered to his feet and I flung my arms around him the moment I reached him, almost throwing us both to the ground once more. His arm curled around my waist as I revelled in his warmth and movements, too speechless to even say anything to him and was content to simply embrace him. A gentle touch pulled me back and Michaela leaned into me as Sam looked down to the Matrix in his hand now fully reformed. Great, more impossible and inexplicable things. Sure, why not?

With my heart thrumming with hope I watched in silence as Sam climbed onto Optimus and stood at his chest, gripping the Matrix in his hands and as he lifted it up, my hand darted out and gripped onto Jazz as I watched, hardly allowing myself to hope. When the Matrix connected with Optimus's spark I was the one who cried out, grasping my chest and falling to my knees as I felt an agonising burst of searing heat flare through me, replacing the frigid cold of before and the flickering flames danced as our link was restored.

Optimus jolted and coughed up sand, groaning wearily but very much alive. I heard Jazz swear softly in disbelief whilst I remained on my knees, watching as Optimus slowly got up, eyes fixated on Sam. "Boy, you returned for me." Jetfire hailed Optimus with awe and I found myself walking forwards of my own accord, unable to look away from him as the pain was replaced with comfort and emotion roared in my mind as everything came rushing back to me at once. "Little spark." A shaky sob escaped me as I touched Optimus's arm, feeling his familiar warmth before closing my eyes and resting my forehead against him.

"Welcome back." I whispered softly and Optimus curled his hand around me with one finger delicately brushing against my face, silent and understanding. It was perfect, the reunion I had hoped for and nothing could have made me happier in that moment, except that the moment was short lived and like all other small moments of relief or victory, they were overshadowed by something more menacing and deadly.

It appeared without warning and seemed to materialise all at once from the air, huge and twisted and grotesque to look upon. Instantly Optimus made to shield me, covering me with his body however the newcomer easily knocked him onto his side and used the long weapon staff to slice into his side, disappearing to then reappear and with a powerful burst made everyone collapse to the ground. "Cherry!" Jazz yelled my name as I rolled onto my front and scrambled up to get to Optimus, refusing to leave him even as our enemy returned and pulled the Matrix from his chest.

"My Matrix!" So this was the Fallen. Bastard, he is _not_ going to destroy my home and he is not going to destroy Optimus a second time. I'll find a way to fight him off, he's not going to succeed.

"Optimus!" I skid to a halt by his head, resting my hands upon his helm as he groaned and struggled to even lift himself up even as Sam and everyone else yelled for him to get up on his feet. "Optimus, can you hear me? Come on please, open your eyes. Look at me." Slowly he blinked them open, the intense blue scanning before focusing in on me. "That's it, I'm here. I'm right here Optimus, just hold on."

"He's turning on the machine! You got to stop him! Get up! Optimus!" I looked towards the pyramids where the Fallen had taken the Matrix, lost for ideas and having no power of my own to stop him. All I had was Optimus's energon inside me, what use was I to this world where all the firepower of the military as well as the Autobots was useless? Lennox and all remaining units started to race for the pyramids but I stayed with Optimus and refused to leave his side.

"All my Decepticon life, I never did a thing worth doing until now." Jetfire mused sadly before hobbling forwards as Optimus managed to lift his head, hands pressed into the sand as I stood next to him. "Optimus, take my parts and you will have a power you've never known. Fulfil your destiny!" My favourite grandpa Autobot turned Decepticon reached into his own chest, making me squeak in shock as I watched him rip out his own spark, giving up his life so that he might make a difference to others. To us. He dropped like a stone and I lost all readings of his energon, everything completely disappearing as his spark lay lifeless and dead in his hand.

"Jolt! Electrify! Transplant those afterburners." Jazz swooped forwards and grabbed me with one hand, pulling me back as Jolt latched onto both Optimus and Jetfire's remains. I bore witness to the rise of Optimus Prime, the transformation one that I would remember for a very long time to come. He took on the jet thrusters and wings, metal pinning itself to his body in a brassy armour which made him seem taller and more powerful as he rose to his feet, fully restored.

"Let's roll." And just like that he shot up into the sky, leaving the rest of us behind to simply stand back and watch. Or at least that's what I would have liked, but of course nothing goes to plan. No sooner had Optimus flown after the Fallen and Megatron, heavy gunfire fell down upon us and Jazz was quick to leap out of the way, grunting as he rolled with me safely tucked up in his arms.

"Autobots regroup on me!" He ordered as he quickly placed me on the ground. "Go hide cherry, get out of here! We'll hold them off!"

"No way Jazz, there's too many and you're all worn out, we have to run!" I tried to argue however he just pushed me back once more, using his body as my shield as the last of the Decepticons came down on us for one final assault. We were fairly evenly matched in numbers but we were out in the open and too exposed. It wouldn't be long before the Decepticons had gained enough of an advantage that my friends would be overwhelmed completely.

"Not until you make it out of here safely, we'll cover your retreat. Now go!" Bumblebee called to me, waving as he transformed and took on Sam, Michaela and his parents, speeding away however even as I started to run, a Decepticon erupted out of the ground and landed in front of me, making me scream and bolt the other way. Looks like Jetfire hadn't killed that scorpion thing thoroughly enough because it still looks healthy to me! "Cherry!" I ran from the scorpion as it fired at me, slicing its tail to stab at the ground and it missed me by inches, snatching at empty sand as I leaped to the side.

The Decepticon effectively cut me off from the others, not allowing me to escape as it either jumped out in front of me or slammed its tail into the sand to stop me from finding open space to run into, forcing me towards a downed helicopter which I ran for. I heard the others yelling my name, Jazz desperately trying to get to me but each time he tried he was shot at and several blasts struck him, making me cry out in alarm and worry, sobbing in fear as I backed away from the scorpion like Decepticon, my legs trembling weakly until they buckled underneath me and I had to crawl backwards, staring as that huge spiked tail loomed over me. Oh my god, I don't want to die, I don't want to die again. Not like this, not when we just brought back Optimus. Please, do not let me die.

As my hand touched against the helicopter, I felt a strange sensation rush through my body, tingling and hot before it suddenly burst outwards. For a moment I blacked out, losing consciousness and I cursed myself inwardly for being so pathetic but then I realised that my unconsciousness only lasted a brief moment before a flurry of Cybertronian symbols blurred across my mind and suddenly I could see, except it was like I were looking through the eyes of a computer. Panicked, my body started shifting. Correction, my body started _transforming_.

"What the fu-! AGH!" I yelled in terror, rising up to a height I knew I could never dream of achieving and as the scorpion Decepticon made to impale me with its tail it froze and backed away slightly in surprise. Wait, that's _my_ body. Right there at my feet, lying motionless on the ground. "Somebody do something! I'm all big and metal and I don't know what the hell is going on! AGH!" Screaming I tried to shake off whatever it is had happened however as I flopped my slender metal arm it shifted, making me freeze in place as a machine gun rose up and settled. "Huh?" I don't know what I did, whether it was a minute twitch or something I did, but it started to fire and I couldn't stop it, the rapid spray of bullets striking at the scorpion as I whirled around, yelling and wailing whilst trying to maintain my balance.

My oversized feet were a completely new conundrum and inside my head I was still screaming, flailing my arms with bullets flying everywhere as I teetered, one foot stomping onto the scorpion by accident as it attempted to burrow its way underground. "Help! Help! Something went wrong! I got struck by a voodoo spell or something, will somebody switch me back?! I'M KIND OF IN A CRISIS HERE!" My small episode seemed to draw the attention of everyone around me, both friendly and not. "Crap." Decepticons suddenly picked me out as the easy target and when several missiles came shooting towards me I screeched, launching myself rather unceremoniously out of the way so that I clattered to the ground in this huge body which was completely alien to me. No pun intended.

I struggled to my feet, staring at my metallic hands and feet, trying to make sense of whatever it was that had just happened however I was snapped out of my thoughts when people started shouting at me so I looked up only to see another onslaught coming at me. This time I wasn't able to move fast enough so I turned and ducked my head, trying to make myself as small as possible whilst hunkering down over my human body which remained perfectly still and motionless. "Hey! Wake up! Take my consciousness back right now!" I tried poking my human body but still nothing. "This is not a good sign. Holy mother-!"

Grabbing my other body I sprung out of the way of a Decepticon who crashed into the ground with a swing of its fist, trying to knock me onto my back but I somehow managed to dodge by leaping onto one hand and twisting my body, information pouring into my mind as my eyes absorbed everything around me and as I observed the Decepticon, my eyes pinpointed the places to strike. My first foot caught the jaw, stunning him temporarily and the second swept out its feet from underneath him, allowing me time to open up the distance between us. "Oh my god, oh my god I can't believe I just did that, that was so awesome!"

"Cherry! Use your weapons! The cannons! Use your cannons!" Jazz was yelling at me, still pinned down and unable to reach me.

"I don't know how to use the freaking cannons! Where the hell are they?!" I bellowed back, struggling to figure out how this body even worked. The Decepticon rose back to its feet, making me gulp in fear as I continually backed away. Looks like I'll be learning on the job, I can panic and worry over this later, let's just focus on living through this ordeal for the moment. Somehow having being turned into a transformer, I figured that if I tried to copy what the others did, I might get something so I lifted up my arm like before, only this time the machine gun didn't appear. "Huh?!" A heavy blow landed on my chest and threw me backwards.

My human body barely escaped without a scratch as I focused on protecting it, preferring to have a body to actually go back to should this one be destroyed. My chances are not looking good here. I lashed out with a foot but it was batted away easily, the Decepticon smirking and giving a blood chilling laugh as it continued to advance on me, drawing out its weapons and training both of them on me. Oh no you don't, I am not dying because of a Decepticon a second time!

Something seemed to click inside my own body, my defence mechanisms activating and with a burst of movement I swung myself around, kicking down upon the Decepticon's knee and broke the joint there completely, making it bellow in pain as I used one hand to grasp onto one of the cannons and yanked it towards its own head, dropping my weight behind it and tugged until it blew off its own face which then allowed me to kick it in the back and leap up into the air, transforming into the helicopter that I had been trapped against just a few minutes ago. "Dude, this is sweet and terrifying at the same time!" I crowed as I somehow managed to steer myself towards the fight. "Eat this you rusting pieces of scrap!"

Firing all missile rounds I had to offer as I flew overhead, the Decepticons were taken by surprise by a sudden airstrike and I was pleased to note that although most of my aim was off, a few of them hit close to home and one missile went straight through the spark of the biggest Decepticon, neutralising the threat. Okay so there's room for improvement but we can work on that. With my human body safely tucked up inside, I banked around a little too sharply, causing me to waver and lose my balance slightly, clipping a column and quickly started to spin out of control but as I crashed, I rammed into the last few Decepticons and wounded them enough to allow the Autobots to advance and finish them off.

Screaming loudly and without shame I failed to regain control of the chopper, spiralling directly for the ground but just before we crashed, my mind suddenly rushed back to my human body and I jerked awake and sucked in a deep gulp of air a millisecond before I felt the powerful jolt of the helicopter striking sand. It sent my head ripping forwards and I hit the dashboard with enough force to cause a temporary whiteness to rush over me, drowning out everything except the sharp buzzing inside my head.

Outside I could hear someone shouting until the sound of metal and glass grinding brought back my focus and I opened my eyes blearily to see Jazz ripping open the front and reaching in to grab me. "Careful! Be very careful with her, there could be unforeseen consequences to these effects." Ratchet warned Jazz who softened his grip and gently drew me out from inside the chopper and lay me down on the warm sand. I groaned, feeling a rather strong headache coming on. "Helen? Helen can you respond?"

"Yeah, I can hear you Ratchet. Don't worry about me I'm fine. I think? What just happened?" Sitting up slowly and gingerly touching my head I pulled back my hand to see it wet with blood. Great, just what I need. Is this day over yet? I would really like to go home now. Around me everyone was talking, Ratchet trying to figure out what had just happened to me whilst Jazz worried about my injuries and was yelling for some human medics to assist me, but all of that didn't matter as I stood up on my rather insensible wedge heels and watched as Optimus emerged victorious from his battle. It's over now, finally. Breaking through the Autobots who had gathered around me I ran to him as he lowered himself down upon one knee and held out his hand and the moment I reached him, I wrapped my arms around his large finger, hugging it tightly and pressed my cheek into the metal.

"Everything is alright now little spark, this battle is over." He assured me and warmth flooded my chest, finally chasing away that empty coldness I had felt before.

"Please don't ever leave me again, I never felt so much pain in all my life." I begged him softly, lifting my head as he lowered his face down to mine. "I'm going to find a way to help fight your battles Optimus, I don't ever want to feel so useless to save you ever again. I'll find a way to be able to stand by your side and fighting with you."

"My spark, I do not wish for you to be in such danger." Optimus told me gravely, placing his hand against my back so that he could lift me up towards him. "But if that is what you wish, then I shall be proud to stand beside you." Smiling softly I curled into him as he cradled me in his hands like a protective cocoon, carrying me to the others. Exhausted beyond anything I fell asleep surrounded by warmth and a sense of safety, giving way to the blackness and found peace in it.


	20. Chapter 20

Returning to college after all we went through was kind of a comedown but after a while, I became glad for the peace and quiet. I worked all week but on weekends, I would walk out of my halls and Jazz would be waiting there for me with the music cranked up, the white body of the car gleaming in the sun. We'd go for rides or he'd take me to see Optimus, Bee and the others and when I got some vacation time, I'd always be with the Autobots, meeting them up at national parks or getting clearance to see them on base.

Christmas was one of my favourite times of years because I loved seeing snow. Having lived all my life in California, I was overjoyed to see real snow for the first time whilst I was visiting and I stood outside in it, gazing upwards in my woollen hat, scarf and gloves. My hair had grown a little longer and had actually started to go curly as I stopped straightening it so much, letting it fall loose and natural around my shoulders.

Everything was so white and pretty that it almost felt magical. My parents had expected me home but I'd told them I was busy and they hadn't argued, instead deciding to go abroad for the season. My hand strayed up to my neck where I wore a necklace made from the cog I had picked up from Optimus, my thumb brushing over the Cybertronian runes. "Yo! Get your aft in here cherry, everybody's goin' crazy!" Mudflap yelled to me, breaking me from my reverie and I turned around to see him trying to kick his brother off him as they grappled and fought.

"We all goin' crazy because you were stupid! Nobody won't stand for your crap!"

"Enough boys, behave yourselves." I told them firmly as I strode back inside. "If you two don't stop fighting then it'll be bad for you because I won't let Ironhide go easy on you when I tell him it was you who messed with his pistols." That shut them up and they very quickly transformed and drove away as a means to hide. At NEST headquarters I walked through like some kind of VIP. Everyone knew who I was, some even saluted when I walked past but that was just awkward and embarrassing as all I could think to do was give a nod and uneasy smile in return.

Around me the soldiers were training with the Autobots, developing routines to take down Decepticons and learning their weak points and I was glad to see that the President had agreed to keep the alliance alive, even supplying us with the means to continue operations in hunting down Decepticons. I passed through the main hanger and swiped my card to enter into the Autobots' personal quarters where they'd built several alcoves assigned to each autobot and they had decorated it to their liking.

Jazz had a load of random posters he'd collected on our travels together of rock concerts we'd snuck into by climbing up stadiums or hacking into the live stream video to watch it ourselves. He'd stuck them to the walls and hung fairy lights everywhere so that he always had light to tinker away with whatever project he was working on, keeping his hands busy. I'd helped them decorate their little homes however they liked, using my smaller hands when they were necessary and ordering in anything they wanted. I don't think anywhere else in the world possessed so many huge pillows because this place was full of them, my friends liking to relax and kick back on them.

They'd also hooked up a massive TV which the twins were now watching, arguing over what to watch and I smiled as I gazed around me. "What's up cherry?"

"Hey Jazz, it's a little quiet around here today. Something going on? Where's Optimus?" I asked as I climbed the steps and walked along the walkway towards his own alcove where he was listening to music.

"Some meeting or other, told me to hold down the fort." He shrugged, the whiteness of his body paint reminding me of the snow outside. "Anywhere you want to go cherry? We can drive around the city if you want or go someplace else. Any excuse to get out of here really." I chuckled, swinging my legs over the railing and perched there so that I was eye level with him, giving a stern look as I smiled.

"You're supposed to be watching out for everyone else Jazz, that's why you're Optimus's second. What will he think if he finds out I took you away to go do a little Christmas shopping? He'd be very disappointed in me and I can't have that." Jazz groaned, utterly bored and complained but agreed eventually. We talked for a while, making plans for when we would be able to go out into the city together when one of the patrols came back. Bumblebee and Sideswipe. The voice on the PA system announced their return and I craned my neck, watching as they walked into the private hanger. Or glided, in Sideswipe's case.

"Bee! Check out who's hanging with us today." Jazz called him over with a wave before gesturing to me. Bumblebee's eyes instantly brightened and he leaped forwards, vaulting over Ironhide's ammunition stack and excitedly hummed and chattered at me with his mechanical voice until he was so carried away that he didn't even realise that he wasn't using any words or his radio to try and communicate, but I pretty much understood the gist of things.

"It's good to see you too big guy, I missed you." Suddenly I heard a loud clanging and Ratchet cursing from inside his workshop, tickling my curiosity. Ratchet was often in his workshop these days even when there were no Autobots to fix so what on earth could he be doing in there? "Hey Bee, Jazz, what's Ratchet doing in there? It sounds like he's working on something big."

"You could say that cherry but it's top secret, Ratch doesn't want nobody to see what he's building until it's finished so we gotta wait to find out." Jazz answered me. Bumblebee held out his hand towards me, offering me a platform to jump down onto so I slid off the railings and landed neatly in his palm, now rather an expert at travelling via Autobot transportation. Even in my winter boots I didn't waver as Bumblebee climbed up to his bunker and set me down there where he rifled through his things before finally pulling out what looked like an old gramophone which he held very delicately between two fingers.

"What's this? Where did you find that?" I gave a laugh, smiling at the old dusty thing as I took it from Bee and set it down, looking over it. "Have you been raiding the dump again?"

" _Maybe…just trying to find…something to brighten the room._ " He informed me as he crouched down and pointed to it with his pretty blue eyes. " _Think you can fix it_?"

"I don't know Bee, this thing looks pretty old but I'll see what I can do. Maybe Lennox or somebody will have an idea." I mused, inspecting it closely. It looked to be in pretty decent shape, only the needle was pent and the wood was a little rotten in places. "Bumblebee, if you want a gramophone I don't mind going and buying you one, would you prefer that?" Bumblebee thought about it for a moment before shaking his head, gesturing to the old one he'd picked up from the dumpsite the guys tended to raid for random things that they would bring back and either fix up, remake or just collect.

" _Seems a shame to just leave it lying around…I feel…bad for…the little guy…being forgotten like that_." He explained so I nodded my head and picked it back up.

"Okay then, I'll try my best." Bee gave a whoop and played a song through his radio, excitedly dancing with his arms and shuffling his feet before he picked me up and helped me back down to the ground, placing me in my own little area which the guys had set aside for me. It was like a huge blanket fort as the large white drapes hung from a structure that Ironhide had welded together for me so that I could have some privacy if I wanted but most of the time I kept the drapes pulled back.

Colourful lights twinkled at me cheerfully in all shapes and sizes, the hues dancing off the white drapes with splotches of glittery light from the disco ball which hung from the centre. I had a sofa, pillows, blankets, a work table, chair and numerous other things I'd brought here as a means to make it homely. I even had a work station outside where I could use my tools to fix things up if I could. Ever since becoming part of this world I'd become more adept at using my hands. I could now quite easily name all the parts of a car engine as well as take it apart and put it back together. Ironhide was teaching me metalworking and Ratchet had taken to teaching me how to fix up broken parts and helping me understand the anatomy of one of their kind just in case.

For more delicate work he sometimes asked for my help such as fitting small pieces together or reaching into small places. I didn't feel like I was doing much but I appreciated how the guys all tried to make me feel included. They had made a habit of bringing broken things to me and asking me to fix it. The twins had started it when they'd brought me an old arcade game, pinball, and asked me how it worked. Of course at that time, I had had no idea what to do with it but I felt too guilty to tell them that as they were so interested and animated about this cool new thing they'd found, so I had said I would take a look at it.

It had taken me hours to figure it out, trying to clean it up and even ordered in new parts to replace the old ones as well as rewiring the circuits and I'd actually been given help by some of the men when they'd seen me tinkering away at this arcade game which must have been used in the seventies or something because it looked very vintage. They'd taken pity on me floundering around so a few of them pitched in, including Epps and I learned a thing or two about fixing things and after a while, we finally got it working again. The twins went crazy over it and it was up in their crib right now, whirring and pinging away and they had a running scoreboard between them, always trying to beat the other.

Well after that, Sideswipe brought me an entire stereo system and asked if I could fix it. After that, it kind of became a thing that whenever the Autobots found something human that took their interest, they brought it to me to either fix it up or find someone who could mend it and get it working again. Quite honestly I was rather pleased with my handiwork most of the time and anything I didn't know I just searched online for a tutorial or information. I think I managed quite well, however this gramophone didn't look like it was going to be working again anytime soon. I'll have to learn how it actually works first, though it can't be more difficult than Jazz's jukebox. I don't know where they get all this junk from but it just keeps on coming.

So I spent my day looking at this old gramophone, taking it carefully apart and disposed of all the pieces that were completely dead and useless before then going to the supply unit and borrowed some of Ironhide's stuff though he didn't mind me using it since I always asked first. Sometimes it made me laugh, I never thought I would end up being the kind of girl who knows the ins and outs of a car's wiring or can put together old things and make them new. Thankfully ordering parts was easy enough, especially on my parent's credit card. It was kind of their way of saying 'here you are have money now don't bother us'.

Surrounded by my numerous things the Autobots had collected I was rather engrossed with my tasks, cleaning and repairing what I could and sorting them into piles of what was salvageable, what needed to be sent of elsewhere to be fixed and what was dead beyond repair. I worked for so long that soon my eyes started to ache with tiredness and I was yawning whilst I lounged back in a chair, fiddling with a screwdriver as I tried to work my way between two conduits to separate them. I blinked and then I felt myself drifting, dozing sleepily until morning where I woke up to find several blankets over me and a few faces looming over me.

"Is it normal for a human to switch off for so long? It has been more than several earth hours." That was Sideswipe talking, voices rising into focus as I began to wake up.

"Trust me, if anyone is an expert on human behaviours by this point it's me. Cherry's fine, she sleeps for ages all the time it's normal. Stop hanging over her like a pack of cyber-birds and give the girl some space." Jazz quipped at them as the twins butted in.

"You sure she ain't dead? I heard somewhere that humans die without nobody realisin' all the time, it like they just switch off or summin'." Skids questioned and an argument broke out with Jazz and Bumblebee trying to get the others to back off however when I groaned and shifted in my chair everybody's heads turned towards me. "She's alive! She's alive!"

"I was never dead you psycho twins, jeez. It's so noisy in here."

"Hey! Who locked me in the closet again?! This is freaking nuts, I am not a 'bot to be messed with!" Sitting upright upon hearing Wheelie yelling I got up and went over to the lockers and pulled one open to have Wheelie come tumbling out of it, kicking off toilet paper and bits of gum stuck to his wheel. "This is inhumane, those twins are gonna be the death of me."

"Sorry about that Wheelie, I didn't know you were in there." I apologised before crouching down and started to clean him up but the gum was stuck on tight. "Did you see who did this to you?"

"Just a bunch of dumb grunts, they don't like an ex-Decepticon hanging around here, you know?" Sympathetic to Wheelie's plight I picked him up and took him over to my work table where I began to peel off the gum and other assortments from his wheels and body with my screwdriver whilst the Autobots all looked on.

"Dude, you look totally messed up!"

"Now that's funny." The twins sniggered together, high fiving one another and Wheelie insulted them with every foul word he knew until I covered his mouth.

"Okay you can stop now, I think they get the message." I said to him before stepping back to look him over. "Well I think I got all of it off. How's your eye? Does it need any adjustments or is it okay?"

"It's better since you fixed it up for me, you're a real pal." Wheelie said to me before hopping down and wheeling over to his little bunker which was set up inside my own area. He had built himself a little bed out of an old box which faced his own retro television set I'd set up for him. "Don't nobody bother me when I'm catching my show or I'll poke out someone else's eye, see how they like it." Poor little guy. Rubbing the sleep from my eyes I head back outside, the Autobots getting ready for their day.

"Hey cherry." Jazz called me over as he swung down from the huge climbing apparatus which had been built across the entire ceiling, dropping lightly to the ground and landing in front of me. "The boss just got back, says we can head out into the town if you want." Instantly I brightened, looking around for signs of Optimus. "He's still with Lennox and them guys, we'll see him when we get back."

"Alright then, in that case let's go. You gonna be okay on all the snow? It was coming down pretty heavy last night."

"Pft, as if a little white powder is enough to stop me." Jazz retorted with a grin before transforming into his car mode and allowed me to hop on inside. We drove out of headquarters and into the city and Jazz took me to all the places I wanted to go and soon enough my arms were filled with shopping bags which carried all the presents I'd bought. Shopping for an entire family of Autobots was a lot harder than it sounds, more so to the fact that there were a lot of them. My shopping took up most of the day and it was soon snowing again which meant that in places it was difficult to move through the traffic, but Jazz kept his heaters going and we were never bored.

It felt just like old times and when we got back, I felt warm and contented as several voices called out to me, welcoming me back like I had always belonged there. "I'm home!" I called out to everyone and lifted up my numerous bags. "Hope you guys behaved whilst I was away and by that I mean you two." I nodded to the twins who were fighting over a large metal disk for no good reason at all but they quickly hid it behind their backs as I walked past, whistling and pretending like nothing was going on. They were so cute. "Wheelie I got you that magazine you like and a few others, though it was awkward as hell buying them. I hope you appreciate the embarrassment I went through just for you." Pulling out several magazines I chucked them onto my sofa for Wheelie to flick through, his face grinning at me.

"You're the best, babe, I owe you one!" Though why Wheelie enjoyed pictures of nude girls, I don't quite understand. I didn't think these guys would find that sort of thing attractive but there we go. I'm not going to be the one to ask. I hid away the rest of the gifts, tossing a blanket over the bags then went to go find Optimus, wanting to see him. He was parked in his bay but when he sensed me approaching he woke up and transformed before me, his entire body relaxing as he smiled to me.

"Welcome home, little spark."

"It's good to be back. How have things been? You haven't been running into any Decepticons or anything have you?"

"No, our enemy have fled into hiding for the time being. I sense that they will not be returning for some time." Optimus answered me as he held out his hand and let me climb on so that I didn't have to constantly look up at him. "Instead we are now assisting your government in the conflicts between you humans. If we can prevent your kind from going to war with each other then that is a task we shall undertake." He always sounded so serious when he talked about the missions, though technically he wasn't supposed to tell me about them on account of them being classified.

"Well, we humans have a knack for always finding a way of causing conflict. Something like world peace isn't going to be achieved any time soon I can tell you that." I answered honestly and Optimus dipped his head in agreement. "But hey, with you guys helping us I'm sure things will work out fine. On another note, how are you feeling? You're fully recovered, right?" I always worried about Optimus since he had been killed. It was like I expected him to suddenly malfunction and keel over and the stress was not good for my health, I tell you.

I think he understood that because he always reassured me that the Matrix had restored him completely and that there was no cause for concern. He carried that thing around in his chest, protecting it and it had taken some explaining for me to understand just how important that thing was. It was a symbol of quality, only those who were worthy were allowed to carry it and to be chosen meant a greatness that signified a leader. Once I understood, it made sense to me that Optimus would have the Matrix since he embodied everything I envisioned in a leader. He was perfect for the job.

Smiling I remained with the Autobots for the rest of winter break, waking up on Christmas day and handed out their presents though they still did not quite understand the concept of giving presents on this particular day no matter how many times I tried to explain it to them. Regardless, they all enjoyed getting gifts and Bumblebee in particular was overjoyed when I presented him with the fixed gramophone as well as some vinyl records for him to play and I set them up for him and we listened to some older songs which had a soft sound to them as they played through the horn. I had one of the best Christmas's that I could remember that year and I fell asleep against Bumblebee later that evening, completely full on roast turkey and pudding.


	21. Chapter 21

First year of college was over, meaning that I now had summer vacation to look forward to. Sam had already gone home as he'd finished earlier than me and his parents were planning a trip to Europe again, wanting to try Paris again and this time not get kidnapped by Decepticons. My stuff was all packed up and ready to move out, however when I went outside to the parking lot in front of my halls, I was surprised to find not only Bumblebee but Ironhide and the twins too. "Guys, what are you all doing here? Did you come to help me move my stuff?"

" _Sure thing…had some time on our hands…figured you could use the help._ " Bumblebee answered me and I grinned at him happily.

"Well you were right about that. Hey Ironhide, thanks for coming."

"Optimus said that you would need assistance and we have not been called to a mission, so we are here to transport your belongings back to base." He informed me rather stoically in true Ironhide fashion. "Though these twins are frying my wires with their constant noise. Please, shut them up before I shoot them." Laughing with amusement I gave Ironhide's hood a hearty pat before telling the twins to tone it down since we were in public. I could hear their argument even with their windows rolled up. They complained but I warned them that if people start to look at them weird, it's because two cars were talking with each other with no drivers inside and it would be on their heads if they got found out.

That seemed to do the trick so I began to ship my stuff downstairs. I loaded up Ironhide's truck first since he had the most room, securing down the boxes with some cables before throwing a cover over the top to keep my stuff from getting wet or dusty before then bringing the rest down. I just about managed to pack everything in one go, shuffling things around and using up all the space I could find without overcrowding the guys until finally, we were done. "Alright, looks like we'll manage with one trip after all. We good to go?"

" _Let's get this show on the road!_ " Bee chanted before switching for some tunes. Giving a laugh I climbed in and Bumblebee led the way back home, telling me all about his last mission in Mexico as best he could whilst I told him about how my exams had went and how I was going to move into an apartment next year with a bunch of other people. Bumblebee always liked hearing about college so I made sure to not miss out any details. We got back to NEST base by dusk, pulling into the Autobots' private hanger and I jumped out.

"Babe you're back! You gotta save me, I'm begging you please!" Wheelie yelled and flung himself on my leg, making me jump in surprise as he tried to climb up off the ground. "They're using me for target practice, I got dents in my butt!" Looking up at me with desperate imploring I reached down and picked him up.

"What are you talking about? Who's 'they'?" Trembling in my arms he slowly turned and pointed to a group of guys lingering at the bay doors, holding their weapons against their bodies. "You mean them?"

"They been shooting blanks at me since yesterday, I can't get any peace and quiet anywhere! They always find me, it's driving me crazy!" He complained and my face fell into a harsh scowl, glowering across to them but they were already walking away.

"Okay, you stick with me then Wheelie. They won't bother you if you're with me." I promised him and set him up on my shoulder before starting to move all my stuff. Jazz was away with Ratchet on a mission and Optimus was also elsewhere, which meant it was just us. Bee helped me move my things after I'd pulled everything from his trunk, picking them up and putting them neatly aside so that they wouldn't be in the way. "Thanks again guys, I really appreciate you doing all this to help me."

"No sweat, nothing ain't too good for the boss's little girl, ain't that right Mudflap?"

"Yeah that's right, nobody won't mess with you while we're here, you one of us now." Mudflap agreed and I smiled at them both and patted their hoods affectionately. Wheelie stuck to me like glue for the rest of the evening and even when I went to sleep he snuggled under the blanket with me. I didn't mind his company, I actually quite liked him because of his spunk. As I slept I felt Bumblebee close by and he softly drew the blanket further up my arm to keep me warm, hushing anyone who made too much noise. He really was the sweetest thing.

It was another few days before everybody got back and to my surprise, Optimus brought some newcomers with him. We all gathered forwards to meet them, myself being perched on Jazz's shoulder as a red Ferrari and an older model car. Optimus transformed first, standing upright and stepping aside as the other two followed suit. "Autobots, our numbers have grown as has our strength. Our new brothers in arms, designation Dino and Que." He introduced and I tilted my head slightly. The Ferrari Autobot looked awesome with bladed scythes on his arms and his doors standing upright on his backs similarly to Bumblebee, curious eyes glancing around whilst remaining ready to react to danger. "Welcome to earth, we are glad that you are here with us."

"I say, this is all quite fascinatingly remarkable. Though these machines are quite primitive and are in desperate need of attention." The other Autobot, the one who looked more like a mad Einstein than anything else, was already absorbing data of all the machines and weaponry around him, taking in every detail. "Oh! I see you even have one of these homo sapiens as a pet, might I run some tests to gather more data?"

"Huh?" Realising that the crazy scientist was referring to me, I balked in alarm. "No way! I'm not a pet and we're called humans! I am not something for you to experiment on!" After a rather nerve wracking introduction and long winded explanation as to who I was, Que seemed satisfied and didn't ask to probe me again. Dino settled in rather quickly, becoming friendly with Sideswipe and Jazz who all started to spar together so I stayed well out of the way with Bumblebee, hanging out with him in his bunk until Ratchet called for me.

"If you would come down from there little human, I have something that you should see. In fact, everyone should probably see this." He informed me, standing by his private workshop so I jumped down and descended the stairs as the Autobots gathered before him. "In response to what happened in Egypt, I believed it necessary to try to duplicate the event which caused Helen here to transform. Helen, if you please." Politely stepping aside I glanced up at Ratchet then walked into his studio where he switched on the lights and instantly I saw a large body which was spread out upon his operating table.

"Ratchet, what in hell's name is that?" I asked, a little floored.

"I have been working on creating a new body for you to try and transfer into at will. Of course it took some time, but I believe that it should finally be ready for you to try. There is a possibility that this will not work and all my labours were for nothing, but I was curious." Ratchet explained to me, kneeling down so that he could talk to me directly. "Would you like to at least take a look?"

"Alright, yes please." I agreed a little hesitantly, uncertain of how I felt about this. Ratchet lifted me up and carried me over so that I could see the body's shell more clearly. There were no distinguishing features on the face, though I noted how the parts were rather mixed and matched. It looked as if it had been put together from several different pieces. "Um, Ratchet? Where did you get all the parts for this?"

"I reused the recovered parts from the Decepticons we defeated." Instantly I rejected the idea of trying to transfer my consciousness into this thing. That was a Decepticon body, made from Decepticon parts. I couldn't use it, I didn't even want to try. "Do not worry, it's just scrap. They are not Decepticons any longer, so this is just reused metal."

"Ratchet, are you certain that this is a wise choice?" Optimus questioned with a deep tone of uncertainty, sensing my distress. "We do not even know for certain how Helen was able to transfer herself in the first place. I do not wish for her to come to harm."

"Right, and why should she be made to take over that pile of Decepticon parts? You'd be turning her into something we've fought to kill!" Jazz agreed, dead set against the idea. Suddenly there was arguing and Ratchet protested that it was worth trying to find out if I could do it. Everybody argued and argued, voices growing louder until finally Optimus ordered for silence. The quiet grew, becoming awkward and I wanted to figure out a way to satisfy everyone and of course, I did not want to hurt Ratchet's feelings so I decided to come up with a compromise.

"How about I try with ordinary vehicles first?" I suggested and everyone turned their attention to me. "It worked with the chopper in Egypt, so I should be able to manage it again. If I can get used to somehow transferring myself into another place without anything going wrong, then we can try this." Gesturing to the body behind me, I then looked up at Ratchet. "I don't want your hard work to go to waste, so I'll try it, though I don't exactly like the idea of using something that used to be a Decepticon."

"Thank you Helen, I appreciate you being honest." Ratchet nodded to me, even giving a small smile as he put me back down. "We should speak to the humans about this. They will want to know what we are up to."

"Agreed." Optimus said sombrely so I placed a hand on his foot to reassure him, giving a confident smile. Before I knew it I was being presented with a huge array of vehicles and the entire testing hanger had been cleared in order to give me room. Lennox had agreed to this experiment though I wasn't exactly sure how it was going to work. I mean, how did I even do it in the first place? All I remember was me screaming in my head that I didn't want to die.

There were cars, trucks, tanks, all kinds of vehicles and I looked at them blankly. "Anybody got any ideas or advice?" I asked but was met with silence. "Figures. Alright then, let's try this." To start I walked up to a car, looking at it with a frown before placing my hand against the hood. I felt stupid, standing there with my hand against the car whilst everybody watched but I stuck to it, trying to clear my mind, command my consciousness to go, tried to push it away but nothing worked until finally, I pulled back. "Yeah. I got nothing." A collective sigh of disappointment echoed around me and I blushed in embarrassment.

"It is not vital that you succeed so do not feel discouraged." Optimus said to me kindly as a quiet hum of bustle and chatter resumed. "It is your decision on how you proceed, none can make it for you. Just be cautious, do not bring harm to yourself, or to others." He warned me before turning and leaving, everyone else also going about their own business though Bumblebee stayed with me, making soft sounds of concern as a means to ask me if I was alright.

"I'm fine big guy, it's no real loss. Maybe if I understood how I did it in the first place I'd have more success." Bumblebee nodded his head in agreement and played some songs of encouragement before transforming and letting me sit on him with my legs crossed, frowning and contemplating as I stared at one of the cars in thought.

"Sup babe?" Wheelie said as he came to keep me company, climbing up Bee's wheel until he too was sat on the hood with me. "What's going on in that brain of yours?"

"I was just thinking about what happened back in Egypt. It was rather terrifying and I kept on falling over these huge feet but it was kind of cool at the same time. I mean, somehow I managed to pass my consciousness into a completely dormant and inactive helicopter and bring it to life. If I could do that again whenever I wanted to, I could be of much better use to you guys than just being a liability." Bumblebee suddenly growled with his engine and lurched forwards, making me squeak and quickly grip on for balance as his radio blared at me.

" _You are the…the furthest thing from…being useless…that I ever did see!_ " He told me sternly as he continued working through the audio. " _Don't ever let me catch you…beating yourself down…like that…again._ "

"But it's the truth Bumblebee, the only reason I'm still alive and in one piece is because of you guys. If I didn't have you all taking such good care of me then I'd be toast." I argued with him so he gave a sharp whistle of his alarm in response, something along the lines of a humph. "Come on Bee, don't be mad, think of it this way. If I weren't such a defenceless little human then I wouldn't need you and Jazz watching my back so often, then we wouldn't get to hang out like we do. Isn't that a good thing?"

" _Well…you make a good point._ " He relaxed a little, giving a throaty purr of his engine which tickled me as I was sitting right on top of it.

"Besides you ain't as helpless as most of you humans. Not as mean either, even that other chic was crazy, the one who torched my damn eye." Wheelie said, fiddling with it unconsciously so I tapped his hand away.

"Don't tug at it or you'll pop it back out again. Leave it alone."

"But it itches!"

"Stop it!" After wrestling with Wheelie to make him stop prodding at his eye I walked with Bumblebee through the base back to our own quarters. Some of the soldiers murmured to one another when I passed and I caught snippets of their conversation. Apparently some of them weren't happy with a random civilian just living in with the Autobots like it was normal and even Lennox brought it up at one point, asking if I had any plans to go home. "Nope, if I ever see my parents' house again it would be way too soon. We don't get along." I'd told him before walking away.

I guess I was pushing my luck a little, living on base the way I was so I searched around for an apartment nearby or in the city, however I wasn't entirely sure I was going to be able to afford it considering I had to afford college too. That's how I ended up getting a job. I worked from seven until five every day except Saturday and saved up so I could afford a place after college whilst simultaneously house sitting for a couple who were away for the entire summer, meaning I also had a place to stay. The guys seemed to miss me being away all the time because when I'd come and visit them on Saturdays, I'd be flocked with Autobots wanting to know everything that had happened in the week and I'd stay up with them, talking and tinkering away at things before crashing.

Usually Jazz or Bumblebee would take me home, however one week when I had been blessed with an entire weekend I stayed over the night but I still felt shattered and I'd fallen asleep on Bumblebee's shoulder whilst we were watching a movie. Thankfully he'd noticed before I could fall off and quickly caught me, tucking me up in my own little corner and placed a blanket over me. It became routine, work most days, visit on weekends or in the evenings and this seemed to work much better as I didn't get so many looks from the soldiers, though Jazz had a thing or two to say about my reasons for not living in with them.

Even though we couldn't go on our annual cross country road trip, this was still pretty cool and I came back year after year and for every vacation I could, always checking in on them and making sure that everyone was okay. Before I knew it I had graduated and I moved to Washington along with Sam and I rented my own dingy little apartment which was old, desperately in need of a new paint job and had a crappy boiler but hey, that's how it's supposed to be when you're fresh out of college. Life, so far, was good.


	22. Chapter 22

I found a job as a personal assistant to a billionaire businessman who had no organisational skills whatsoever and depended on me to organise his entire life. Nothing exciting but it paid the bills and that was all that mattered right now. Once I've saved up and bought my own place, I can think about furthering my career. Sam wasn't doing quite so well, he still hasn't found himself a job and was relying on his current girlfriend to support him, Carly. I like Carly well enough but she wasn't Michaela. It really sucked that she broke up with Sam and I had been caught between the crossfire for a while until she and her dad moved away to Texas.

We didn't see much of our friends these days since they were always busy with missions and it had been made clear that my constant presence on base was not welcome by the higher ups, namely the director. Lennox had tried to argue my case for me but the regulations were made clear and I had to abide by them. Out of everyone, it was Optimus who had been the most angered but I had reasoned with him until he calmed down and promised to see him and everyone else whenever I could and that they were always welcome to come and visit me.

To that end, they came as often as they could. Sometimes driving straight over from a mission just so that we could go for a drive and talk. I saw Jazz and Bumblebee the most, Optimus being busier since he was needed more often and the twins sometimes dropped in for a chat or to hide from Ironhide if they'd pissed him off. I was glad to still be kept in the look but I found it hard at first, being so disconnected from them.

The only reason I had been allowed to stay as long as I did was because I had been trying to fuse with different vehicles and that suit Ratchet had made for me, but after three years of trying with no luck, it was all but given up. The body that Ratchet had spent hours of his time fixing and building now lay gathering dust and I had felt so guilty and ashamed that I had barely been able to look at him until he'd assured me that he wasn't angry and that he shouldn't have been so hopeful when there was no certainty. Still, it didn't stop me from trying on my own.

My boss was one of those crazy rich kind of guys that he didn't think anything of actually buying me a 'work car', as it was, to drive him around in but he used it so rarely that after he got bored of it, he told me I could have it. Seriously, the perks of this job were second to none. Of course as nice as it was to have an expensive sports car all to myself, it just wasn't the same as being with Jazz or Bumblebee so I used it sparingly, also afraid of getting into an accident or something. Three months after graduating and already I'm doing fairly well for myself, I couldn't really complain though the work hours were long and sometimes I'd be woken up in the middle of the night with my boss calling for me to arrange or organise something.

All in all, I was doing okay, but of course with the kind of life I've been leading recently, I expected something to go wrong, or something to happen. Of course, I was right. It had started like any other day. I'd got up, gone to work and started organising my boss's schedule and took his calls for him, brought him coffee, drove him to his meetings and kept on top of his files so that everything was in order, however as I was finishing for the day, I got this weird sense that someone bad was going to happen. Initially I didn't notice it, but then the humming sensation in my chest grew more urgent and cold shivers ran down my spine as I walked towards my car.

Brushing it off I climbed in, started up the engine and drove out of the parking lot to head home. Heading out towards the street, my chest suddenly burst with searing heat and I jerked the wheel from the unexpected pain, causing the car to veer off course just as a large bird like creature swooped down with a screech. "Holy mother of god!" I screamed, stepping on the gas and speeding away as I saw nothing but beady red eyes and a long, gangly neck which thrust itself into the car with me. I screamed again, totally losing my cool as its mouth hissed and spat at me. "Greetings Helen Clarkson, Megatron requests you die!" My eyes dropped to the gun nozzle which was now pointed directly at me as the Decepticon bird gripped onto the car's side as I continued to drive.

"Tell Megatron he can kiss my ass." I responded back and jerked my car to the right and rammed the bird into a concrete pillar, taking out the wing mirror as well. Crap, this is exactly why I was afraid to drive an expensive car! The Decepticon gave a tight squeal of pain as I continued driving, racing around the corner and heading for the exit as fast as I dared.

"Get back here, fleshling filth!" With a flap of its wings it flew after me, firing bullets and I heard them strike the back of the car just as I was about to reach the exit so I swung around and continued to race, intending to make a circuit though I was wailing in fear and it felt like I was going to throw up at any given second. "I shall rip the flesh from your bones, human, tell me, where are the pillars?!" The bird was persistent and constantly cut out in front of me, opening fire and forcing me to turn off and I clipped several other cars, setting off their alarms until the entire parking lot was blaring and flashing with lights.

"I am so not meant for this, I am so not meant for this kind of crap!" Struggling to keep my breath under control I swerved to avoid another volley of fire and this time as I straightened up and head for the exit, I hit the gas and held nothing back, putting everything into speed so that as the Decepticon came shooting towards me, I had no choice but to keep on going. Closing my eyes I ducked down my head to take cover and flew out of the parking lot, roaring onto the street and ignoring everyone who yelled and honked their horns at me, cutting corners and trying to speed away as quickly as I could.

It took everything I had to keep from crashing what was left of the car, however since I had expected the Decepticon to give up now that I was out in the open, I did not expect him to suddenly veer down and come flying at me from in front. I panicked, screaming in my head and wanting nothing more than to protect myself somehow. My mind gave a pulse like sensation and I was momentarily blinded but I could still feel the sensations of movement around me, only different. There was a hard rush underneath me and the vibrations of an engine rippling through my entire body until suddenly the headlights flashes and I could see.

"AAAAAGGGGHHHHHHH!" Shamelessly I yelled in terror, losing complete control of myself as one end tried to go one way and the other went in the opposite direction. I'd transferred myself into the car, into the freaking car! My back end was skidding, swinging me from side to side uncontrollably as I fought to try and figure out how I was supposed to drive without being able to actually physically turn the wheel. "Oh my god oh my god oh my god I'm going to die! I'm going to die as a car!" My speed only increased as the Decepticon chased after me, firing again but due to my erratic driving it missed and somehow I managed to jerk myself around a corner, clipping against another car and I felt the blow like a punch to the face. "Crap oh crap oh crap, this is terrifying, oh my god what do I do?!"

My engines roared as I accelerated, traffic having to dodge out of my way as I somehow activated my horn and anchored it down in warning, screaming for people to get out my way whilst I was being chased by a vulture like Decepticon. I quickly began to learn the basics of how to drive like this, though it wasn't as simple as 'think left'. I had to physically and mentally connect myself to the part of the car which would turn me around a corner and after a few minutes, I even figured out how to use the indicator, much help it did me.

I drove for all I was worth, eventually shaking off the Decepticon and I desperately tried to get to NEST so that I could take refuge there and maybe figure this all out, however before I had even got halfway there I felt a sudden rushing sensation and without further warning, I was back in my own body. I jerked upright sharply, the car losing control and I grabbed onto the wheel and adjusted my feet, struggling for breath as I tried to organise my thoughts and senses. "I'm in trouble. I'm in deep, deep trouble. Dear god." I whispered before overtaking all the traffic and heading for headquarters. When I reached the gates I was stopped however I yelled at the guards to let me through, still too hysterical to think or say anything calm even when they tried to get me to talk slower and lower my voice. "I am not calming down I have no reason to calm down I was just chased halfway across town by a killer vulture Decepticon who seemed to have the spectacular idea to try and murder me in my car which I then somehow morphed into and now I am _pissed_ and I want to see Optimus right now so open the damn gates!"

Even with my clearance they weren't letting me through because of 'orders', or whatever and I was so mad that I was about to get out my car and knock some sense into someone or something when I felt a spark in my chest. It caused me to pause and before I knew it, the gates were being opened up from the other side and Optimus was surging forwards, blasting his horn loudly before screeching to a stop. "Optimus!" I leaped out the car and ran to him, ignoring everyone else and I did not stop until I was hugging him. "Optimus, there was a Decepticon and I did the thing with the car and…and…"

"Calm down little spark, you must conserve your strength. Climb in and I shall escort you inside, you are safe now." Feeling infinitely better and more secure than ever I climbed up into his cabin and let him take me inside straight past all the security and directly to the hanger where everyone was gathered. The moment Optimus pulled up I jumped down, still wearing my work suit and skirt though I was now a little dishevelled so I pulled my hair free and shook it out so that I looked a little more presentable.

"Helen, what's going on? Is everything okay?" Lennox asked me as he walked over with a frown creasing his brow.

"No not really. You see I was just having a really nice conversation with a Decepticon who tried to put a bullet in my head." I said blankly as Optimus transformed behind me and Jazz surged forwards, cutting in front of me smoothly before he also transformed.

"What in Primus' name did you just say? You were attacked by a Decepticon?!" His loud voice carried and soon everyone was looking at us.

"Easy Jazz, do not distress her further, she has suffered enough already today." Optimus chided him gently as he lowered himself to his knee to speak with me. "This cannot be coincidence that you should be attacked at this moment. Forgive me, little spark, I should have ensured you were better protected." He apologised and offered me his hand so I exhaled softly and placed my hand against his thumb to reassure him.

"I'm alright, but this Decepticon said something to me. You know, in between all the shooting and trying to kill me. He said something about pillars? Do any of you know what that means?" By the way Optimus, Jazz and Lennox all looked at one another, I guessed that they did. "Okay, I guess I'm missing something here but please tell me why a Decepticon would think that I would know anything about some pillars which you guys obviously seem to know exactly what it was talking about?"

"It has been discovered that an old Autobot ship crash landed upon your moon millennia ago. Inside was its captain, my predecessor Sentinel Prime along with his technology to create Space Bridges." Optimus explained to me, beginning to walk forwards and the rest of us followed through to where the body of an old looking Autobot lay resting and unresponsive. "These pillars are what control the Bridge along with Sentinel himself. The Decepticons must believe that you, being so closely linked to myself, would know where these pillars are being kept." Damn, I can't believe it. Another Prime? I thought that Optimus was the last one remaining but no, another one was right there in front of me. "Little spark, you are in grave danger. You should not stray far from the safety of this base where we will be able to better protect you."

"Boss is right cherry, you ain't going nowhere if the Decepticons are looking to get you. Seems like the team is back together." He grinned at me, closing his fist and holding it out to me so I bumped it with my own though I was hesitant to agree to this on account of it being clearly stated that I was not supposed to ever come here again.

"What about your director or whoever it was who kicked me out in the first place? You sure they're going to agree?"

"I'd like to see anyone try to take you away from us. Don't look so down, it'll be just like old times. We kept your place clean for you, everything is still just the way you left it." Jazz assured me and Optimus encouraged me to go with him, promising to follow. Lennox came with us and I told him everything in detail, including how I'd transferred into the car and may have caused a few accidents during the chase.

"I see. Well all things considered, you did pretty good to get here in one piece. I'll see what I can do about your car, but from the looks of things…" Lennox trailed off as my car was brought in from where I'd left it outside and when I took a proper look at the destroyed frame and shattered glass, crumbled sides and the scraped paint, I felt dizzy. My knees grew weak and I had to turn away, staggered back and grasping onto Jazz for balance who called to me in alarm. "Wow hey, you alright? You good?"

"Sorry, I don't have a soldier's constitution for staring death in the face." I said to him meekly and he nodded his head in understanding, rubbing my back until the episode passed.

"It's okay, a lot of people don't have the stomach for this sort of thing. You're tougher than you look." He told me kindly before placing an arm around my back and holding my arms, helping me walk forwards and found me a place to sit down for a while. "Keep her company Jazz, she faints then you call for help alright?"

"Understood, leave cherry to me." Jazz said with pride as he stood next to me and placed his large hand upon my back so that he enveloped me almost like a cloak. "I got you, you don't need to be scared no more."

"Thanks Jazz-man." I said to him gratefully, sitting quietly for a while to get my wits back however it wasn't long before I heard a familiar voice speaking rather loudly and forcefully. "Sammy?" Instantly I was up, looking around to try and locate him until finally I saw him through the glass up above surrounding the main hanger with Carly and Lennox. "What's he doing here?"

"Beats me, why don't you go find out cherry? I'll be here." Jazz suggested so I quickly ran across the hanger in my heels, jogged up the steps then went through the glass doors and walked straight towards Sam, calling out his name and pushing my way forwards. His eyes lifted and when he saw me he was instantly moving to meet me and we engulfed each other in a tight hug.

"Sammy what are you doing here? Are you okay? What happened?"

"Decepticon killed someone at my work today then came after me, what about you what are you doing here?"

"Decepticon tried to kill me." We were both silent for a moment, staring at one another before finally he pulled me into another hug, wrapping his arms around me so that my head was nestled against him. "I'm glad you're okay."

"Me too. Glad you didn't die." A weak smile rose to my lips at that, relaxing against Sam until somebody cleared their throat and I looked up to see a severe looking woman with tight lips and a sharp gaze which was now focused on us.

"So if this is your girlfriend then who's this?" She demanded to know, first gesturing to Carly who was standing to the side a little awkwardly and then to me as I pulled back from Sam.

"I'm Helen. Who're you?" Scanning her quickly I noticed the identification card she carried, showing her face and name, Mearing.

"Director of National Intelligence and the person who wants to know why we're suddenly letting civilians in off the street? Are we just letting anybody wander in now or am I just mistaking in thinking that this is a high level security facility?" She questioned us ambiguously and the both of us glared one another down until Sam clapped his hands together then snapped his fingers, trying to get everyone's attention back on track.

"Hey, I have an idea. How about we get back to the important topics, like the fact that I almost had my face cut off by a Decepticon? As a taxpayer, I would like to lodge a complaint, as a matter of fact." Frowning slightly I glanced across to Sam. Is he serious? Taking that kind of tone with a woman like Mearing might not exactly be a good idea, especially considering she looks like she is just looking for a reason to have someone arrested.

"Okay, listen, alright? One of the software engineers at Sam's office was murdered today. He was involved in NASA's lunar mapping probe." Lennox tried to back Sam up, handing a report to Mearing who didn't even look at it, merely passed it onto her aide.

"Here's the thing. Colonel Lennox. We cannot entrust national security to teenagers, unless I missed a policy paper. Are we doing that now? No. Good. I don't care who either of you are. If you breathe a word of what you see in here, you will do time for treason. Do you understand me?" She asked, looking at both Sam and I with those hawk like eyes of hers. I bit my lip to refrain from giving a snarky response whilst Sam merely said what he was thinking.

"I'll take my orders from the Autobots. I know them. I don't know you." Narrowing her gaze, Mearing inclined her head slightly with a tone full of warning.

"You will." Turning around she stalked away so I looked across to Lennox in bewilderment and he pulled a sour face.

"She runs a tight ship." He excused weakly before beckoning us to follow. "You guys are always getting into trouble, I don't know how you manage it but since you're here you might as well stay and watch the show, just don't do anything to draw attention, especially with the Director watching, got it?"

"Don't worry, we understand." I appeased him, touching Sam's arm before he could speak and gave Lennox a sweet smile. "Thank you for letting us in, Colonel Lennox. We're sorry to make things difficult for."

"Nah, don't worry about it. I'll smooth things over with the superiors." He waved it off then directed us to go and stand out of sight from the Director but with a clear view of the hanger bay where Sentinel Prime was being kept, Optimus and the others gathering around. I leaned forwards with keen interest, my hair spilling forwards and catching the light as my eyes flickered with changing colours, constantly shifting and changing.

"Let us begin." Optimus spoke as he walked forwards, holding the Matrix between his fingers and it levitated upon air, glowing softly with an iridescent light. "Sentinel Prime, we bid you return." All at once Optimus pressed the Matrix into Sentinel's chest and I felt the surge of power like static at the back of my mouth, watching as the blue light burst like a mist over him and the older Prime jerked and shuddered under the sudden flood of life which roared through him. In a rush Sentinel flung Optimus to the ground, causing me to grasp the railings in alarm as he struck the ground and everyone immediately sprang into action.

"Hold your fire!" Lennox shouted as Sentinel pinned down Optimus, drawing a bladed weapon from his back and I cried out with a shriek, yelling for him to stop and Sam had to grab hold of me to stop me from running down there.

"Stop! Sentinel! It is I. Optimus Prime! It is all right. You are safe." Optimus held off the aged warrior and I held my breath as Sentinel calmed down, blinking in recognition and slowly drew back.

"There is nothing to fear." Ratchet reassured Sentinel as he lifted his head, rising to his feet as the Autobots gathered around him, reassuring him that he was among allies. Thank the lord, I thought he was going to split Optimus in two just now. Sensing that I was relaxing Sam loosened his grip but we stayed standing side by side, his arm curled around me to hold me close as I gripped his hand for comfort.

"We are here. You are home, Sentinel."

"The war...the war!" As the confusion began to clear from his mind, Sentinel turned to Optimus who shook his head sadly.

"The war was lost. Cybertron is now but a barren wasteland. We have taken refuge here, on planet Earth. Its human race is our ally."

"My ship! We came under fire. The pillars. Where are the pillars?" So Optimus was right. The Decepticons must be after the pillars and they were desperate enough that they came after me in the hopes that I would know. Too bad for them, I only share part of Optimus's spark, not his mind. They really were dumb.

"You saved five of them, including the control pillar."

"Only five? We once had hundreds!" The wizened voice of Sentinel was dismayed and I wondered how he was able to so quickly pick up English. He had been speaking Cybertronian when he had first woken up and attacked Optimus, I had heard and even understood it. What I found more interesting was how his vocal processor determined the tonality of his voice, did it self program or did Sentinel personally select it?

"Excuse me, gentlemen. May I ask, what is this technology you're looking for?" Mearing interrupted the two in order to speak out, making Sentinel turn towards her, unabashed to be surrounded by so many tiny organisms. Maybe he's come in contact with us before, he doesn't seem to be reacting at all.

"It is the ability to reshape the universe. Together the pillars form a Space Bridge. I designed and I alone can control it. It defies your laws of physics to transport matter through time and space." That sounded familiar, wasn't that the same technology that Jetfire used to transport us from Washington to Egypt? Amazing.

"You're talking about a teleportation device, aren't you?"

"Yes, for resources, for refugees." Optimus affirmed with a nod of his head, both Primes looking down to Mearing who continued in her brusque tone.

"Refugees, or troops of soldiers, weapons, maybe bombs. A means of an instant strike, that's its military function, isn't it?" She reasoned and I watched as Sentinel drew himself up proudly, carrying the air of a warrior and even a leader, though I could not imagine anyone taking Optimus's place. Not after all we had been through.

"It is our technology and it must be returned."

"Yes. If humans say so. You can't just bring weapons of mass destruction into our atmosphere! Kind of have to clear customs first. A little formality called paperwork, kind of separates us from the animals." That Mearing, I want nothing more than to walk on over and punch that patronising mouth of hers, see it that shuts her up.

"I will overlook your condescending tone if you heed the gravity of mine. The Decepticons must never know the Space Bridge is here. For in their hands, it would mean the end of your world." Gravity received. When anything happens that involves Decepticons, the fact that it's bad is just a given by this point. Mearing eyeballed Sentinel and Optimus for a few moments before turning on her heel and striding away, though not before she yelled.

"Bring those kids to my office. Now!" Shoot. I looked to Sam who gave a word of reassurance before we were ushered forwards, following after Mearing however I stopped as I passed Optimus, looking up at him and he gave a silent nod to signal that he was alright and the worry eased away from my chest, allowing me to go on and focus on facing the dragon's lady. She dropped a file onto her desk as we stood in a line facing her, all of us feeling like school kids who'd been sent to the office for bad behaviour. "'Total Nightmare' file. So, the investigation is open. We've sent agents to your office, Mr Witwicky, and for the time being we're gonna send you both home with Autobot protection."

"Uh, who do I need to speak to get you guys to understand that I can help, that I can contribute?" Sam questioned in frustration, obviously not quite ready to be sent home.

"Hey, we can all help. Want to tell you what I know? I could tell you about the solar system, all the fun planets to hang out in." I jumped slightly when the little Autobot, Brains, suddenly appeared in front of me. I hadn't seen him in a long while, I heard that he and Wheelie had moved in with Sam, though I thought he was joking.

"Get off my desk, please." Placing a gun on the table Brains lifted his hands in surrender, obediently jumping down.

"Oh you pulling out guns? Can't help you out now. She angry." Rolling her eyes Mearing started to look through her papers, seemingly content to ignore us but Sam wasn't done, shaking me off as I tried to draw him back. There was no use in arguing with her, this was happening whether we liked it or not.

"What do you envision for me? Huh? I go home now? I go back to work? I make copies? I mean…"

"This is a unit for veteran intelligence officers and Special Forces, not for little boys who once owned special cars." She cut him off and I started at the cruelty of her words.

"Wow now, easy. No need to make things personal." I narrowed my eyes into a glare as I folded my arms. "Whatever stick you have up your ass is not our problem. What _is_ our problem is the fact that there are Decepticons out there apparently killing humans and won't stop until they get what they want which just so happen to be under the protection of our friends, and that means since they're going to be the ones in danger, it's our business to know what's going on. Screw your paperwork, I am not going to sit back and wait for a call telling me that it's safe to come out of hiding. Understand?"

"Young lady, this is not a negotiation, this is…"

"A piss take of a system. I agree." Her mouth dropped slightly but she quickly recovered her composure though we lapsed into silence. The two of us glared at one another, neither of us backing down. I am not going to surrender to her, not someone who has no emotional bone in their body and no compassion or sympathy for others, or understanding of the Autobots. She just doesn't know them like we do.

"So…are those yours?" Sam asked, breaking off the silence as he gestured towards the medals on the dresser.

"Yeah. CIA."

"I only ask because I also have a medal, from the President." He informed her with a hint of pride in his voice and I had to try and hide my smirk though my mouth twitched slightly. He sure loved that medal, ever since he got it from the President he'd talked about it with anyone who'd listen. Guess I haven't quite done enough to warrant a medal of honourably service to my country just yet, you know, not that nearly dying several times and helping to kill Megatron that one time wasn't significant at all.

"Yeah. Great." Mearing dismissed before sitting down at her desk and lacing her fingers together, eyeballing us carefully. "So, it's not that complicated, right? No one gets to work with the Autobots unless I approve it. You're breaking my chain of command and I won't tolerate it." I wanted to argue but I couldn't come up with a reasonable answer or justifiable excuse that she would accept. I doubt telling her that Optimus and I were pretty much father and child wouldn't tug at her heartstrings.

"Come on, let's go. You've done what you came here to do." Carly said, rising to her feet and pulling Sam along with her and I paused a second, thinking for one moment longer before getting up and following after them.

"With all due respect, young man, I appreciate what you did but you're not a soldier. You're a messenger. You've always been a messenger." My jaw clenched at her words and I instinctively gripped onto Sam's hand. Whilst he felt hurt, I felt angry. Extremely angry. I would like to see her go through what Sam went through each time he saved the world. I'd sit back with a bucket of popcorn and a soda.

"He's a hero." Carly corrected simplistically before leaving with Sam. I knew staying would be unwise as I might have been tempted to release my redhead rage so I stalked after them, heading back to the hanger where the Autobots were waiting save for Sentinel and Optimus.

"Where is…?"

"They're talking in private." Jazz answered me before I could even finish my question. "If I had my way I would be going with you, cherry, I'm still your guardian after all however these humans insist that only one of us will be necessary for your protection. They have nominated Bumblebee." By his voice I could tell Jazz was not happy to be left behind so I stretched up my hand towards him, looking into his eyes as he knelt down and lowered his head until ours were touching. The cool metal of his helm soothed my mind and I felt serene and peaceful.

"We better not piss them off any more than we have done already, okay? Besides, you need to stay here and protect those pillars in case the Decepticons come. I'll stay with Sam and Carly for a while and Bumblebee will call for backup if something happens, right Bee?"

" _Yup…you got it!_ " Still not satisfied with the arrangement, Jazz sulked a little until I reached up on my toes and kissed his cheek, making him blink in surprise and turn his optics towards me.

"I love you Jazz. Even if that dragon lady threatens to lock me up, I'll come back soon. She can't keep me away, not forever."

"You promise?" Smiling up at him I gave him my solemn word, placing my palm on top of his though mine was miniscule in comparison. "Stay safe my 'lil cherry. I'll come faster than the wind if you need me, so don't hesitate to call." Assuring him that I'd keep him on speed dial I stepped back from him, letting go of his hand so that he could pull back, Ironhide and Ratchet coming forwards also.

"We shall try to keep you away from conflict this time, you have already seen too much of war." Ironhide said to me as he flexed his fingers over his holstered gun. "If those Decepticons show their ugly faces, I'll be sure to blow out their processors for good."

"I believe you Ironhide, your aim hasn't ever let us down." I chuckled and he seemed rather pleased with my compliment, drawing back his shoulders and stepping aside so that Ratchet could speak to me.

"It may not be necessary, in fact I hope that it is not, but you should take this with you." Ratchet said to me and I looked behind him to where a flame red car was being driven forwards, the bold colour standing out proudly with neon purple streaks painted down the sides, outlined in black. "You will not recognise it, but this is the body that I built three years prior. It has seen some improvements and Que also helped to remodel it. It still contains the same parts, but it is at least no longer the body of a Decepticon." He said to me and I watched as the car slid up next to me and the soldier got out and handed me the keys before I could even react. "It is fuelled with energon. Prime allowed me to use the Matrix to power and now it is yours. Perhaps you will have more success this way, should you find yourself in danger."

"Ratchet…I…I don't know what to say." I breathed, staring at the beautifully gorgeous car as I walked around it. He had modelled it after a Lotus, I could see he'd used the same schematics and probably some of the same parts as well for things like the wiring and the tyres. A Lotus Esprit concept, sleek and sexy and all things a car should be. "Thank you, you didn't have to go through all this just for me." Turning around I walked over to Ratchet and flung my arms as far as they would go around his leg, making him splutter and cough awkwardly, unsure of how to respond. "You're a real softie, aren't you Ratchet?"

"I have no idea what you mean." He denied blankly, causing me to laugh as I detached myself from him.

"Tell Que I said thank you to him as well, if you can get him away from his inventions long enough!" Ratchet assured me he would pass on the message so with one final goodbye I slid into the Lotus and followed after Bumblebee, flexing my fingers around the wheel. It felt right, somehow, as if the humming sensation was attuned to my own heart and as we drove back to Sam's I found myself liking this car more and more, especially since Ratchet and the others had literally built it for me. It was a touching gesture and it made me feel thought of and special.

I parked the car somewhere safe before heading up to Sam's apartment where Bee took the freight elevator up so that he could join us upstairs. "Eh, this blows. That lady officially kicked us out." Wheelie complained as he jumped onto the sofa to kick back though he cocked his head slightly when I walked in. "Hey babe, what's up?"

"Hey Wheelie." I greeted him quietly, noticing that Carly had shut herself up in her room which left the rest of us down here. Spirits were low, especially Sam's. For all his talk before of wanting to be a normal teenager now all he wanted was to get stuck in the action. I'll admit I felt the same. Saving the world twice and here we are reduced to sitting on the side lines. It sucked.

"I agree. Witness protection program sucks." Brains was saying to Wheelie as he started to chew on something so I fished it out of his mouth before it could be destroyed. The TV remote, Carly would have had a fit.

"Yeah, but we're a whole lot safer with big yellow and his cannons, because that dog can't protect crap." Bumblebee made a soft whining sound as Sam walked around, unsettled and unsatisfied with the situation.

"Bee? You miss hanging out?" He asked and Bumblebee nodded his head with a gentle hum of sound. "Yeah, me, too." Sighing he sat down on the sofa where I was perching, leaning forwards and running his hands over his head so I rubbed circles into his back as a means to try and relax and comfort him. "That woman, she called me a messenger. Can you believe that? After everything I've done, I'm a messenger."

"Oh, I believe it. I tell you, Sammy, we feel the same way. The disrespect on this rock is criminal." Wheelie complained as he flicked through a magazine.

"She doesn't know what she's talking about Sam, don't pay any attention to her. She's just some soulless political climber who doesn't understand what it's like to be part of everything that's going on with our friends."

"We should do something about it." Sam nodded his head, taking on what I had been saying and drawing his own conclusion. "Bee, I need to know why they're killing humans. I say we call in the expert."

"Expert? What kind of expert?"

"You'll see. For now we should probably just get some sleep and we'll start in the morning. Here, I'll get you some of Carly's clothes, she won't mind." Sam said, starting to fuss around with cleaning off the sofa so that I could sleep there whilst Bee tried to move out of the way without knocking anything over.

"Just please ask her first, if not then one of your shirts will be fine." I reminded him as he darted upstairs. I tidied up a little, picking up all of Wheelie's magazines whilst refraining from actually looking at them. "Wheelie, do you _have_ to keep all of these lying around? At least put them away somewhere so that I don't have to look at some random woman's ass in a thong everywhere I look." Lifting up the magazine with said front picture, Wheelie merely shrugged.

"A guy likes to relax in his own crib, sue me." Rolling my eyes I made him move so that I could grab the trash from under the coffee table, clearing up until things looked a little more presentable. Sam must have got talking with Carly as he came down a while later, apologising and giving me some of Carly's nightshirts and a pair of bed shorts.

"Thanks. I'll see you in the morning Sam. Sweet dreams." I told him then kissed his cheek before hugging him, taking the clothes into the bathroom where I wiped off today's makeup and got changed. Folding up my work clothes I set them neatly aside then went over to the sofa where Sam had spread out some pillows and a blanket for me to sleep with. "Wheelie, Brains, I know usually Carly wants you outside at night but I'm too tired to kick you out, but if I heard one peep out of you or you wake me up, I'll be asking Bee to throw you out the window as far as he can, alright?"

"Noted, we'll be quiet. I'm dead beat anyway so there ain't much point in staying up. See you in the morning babe." Wheelie yawned as he kicked up his feet and settled down for the night as Brains scrambled up onto one of the chairs and settled down, snoring away soon enough. I gave a secret smile to the both of them, lifting my head to make sure they were actually sleeping before I rested back my head.

"Bee?" I heard his voice whir and as my eyes adjusted to the dim light I saw his figure move to hover over me so that I could see more than just his bright blue eyes. "Megatron is coming back. Isn't he?" My quiet voice sounded so timid in the darkness, barely above a whisper. Bumblebee blinked at me then slowly nodded. "Don't let him hurt you, okay?" Crooning softly Bumblebee offered me his hand and I gripped onto it tightly, wrapping my arms around one of his fingers to cuddle. "Maybe this time I'll be able to save you instead of you always risking yourself to keep Sam and me out of danger. You won't have to worry about us so much." In answer Bumblebee made a few quiet but urgent sounds before switching for a song, shuffling through before finding the one that he needed.

" _Oh, oh…When the visions around you…Bring tears to your eyes…And all that surrounds you  
Are secrets and lies_." It took me a few moments to recognise the song, however eventually it clicked and I smiled, wriggling on the sofa to get more comfortable and ran my hand up and down Bumblebee's finger nonchalantly. " _I'll be your strength…I'll give you hope…Keeping your faith when it's gone…The one you should call…Was standing there all along._ " He continued singing to me, waving his hand like he was conducting along with the music before he then gave it a little more enthusiasm for the chorus. " _And I will take you in my arms, and hold you right where you belong…Til' the day my life is through, this I promise you…This I promise you…_ "

"Aw Bee, you're so sweet to me." I murmured softly, lulled from his serenading but still smiling. "Shall we add this one to the list of our songs?" Whirring in agreement Bumblebee curled his fingers into me so that his smooth metal fingertips brushed against my face. All through the night Bumblebee did not move, allowing me to hold onto him for comfort and security so that I could sleep peacefully knowing that my watchful protector was nearby.


	23. Chapter 23

"Simmons." I stated blankly as Sam rolled up the door and I saw Simmons standing in a long black coat and shades. "Your idea of an expert…is Simmons?" Tossing Sam an incredulous look I folded my arms. "Obsessed fanatic is more like it."

"Nice to see you too and for your information, I was not obsessed. Simply right." Simmons corrected me with a strong aura of pride which he swaggered around with as he stepped inside, someone following behind him. "Dutch! Meet the lady who saves the world in high heels. Clarkson, Dutch." Frowning I looked towards the gingery blond guy who greeted me in German then held out his hand so I shook it hesitantly.

"If anyone is going to be able to crack this case then it's Simmons. He has all the connections, the means and knows practically all the secrets about the Autobots ever known. He'll help us." Sam promised me so I sighed and begrudgingly nodded my head, stifling a yawn. Sam's sofa was not the most comfortable of places to sleep but at least I'd slept plenty and Bumblebee had been there to greet me as I woke up, playing a cheerful song and sunshine or something, I wasn't fully coherent at that point.

I put on the coffee for everyone then helped set up a timeline all over the lounge, pinning pictures to the walls and running a piece of string to connect one incident to another, however when it got to midmorning I picked at Carly's shirt and sniffed myself. "Hey Sam, I'm going to use your shower if that's okay."

"Uh yeah, sure go ahead. You can borrow some more of Carly's clothes if you want." Nodding my head I went into the master bedroom, dug around in Carly's things and picked out the least expensive looking things I could find just in case I ruined it somehow. Only thing is, Carly was a label kind of girl. I ended up picking out a pair of khaki brown jeans and one of Sam's shirts which I buttoned up halfway down then tied off the excess, rolling up the sleeves so that they didn't dangle over my hands before then pulling on my black work heels. It'll do for now, I hope Carly doesn't mind me borrowing her clothes.

When I reappeared from the bedroom I noted how not much more progress had been made, everyone still carefully combing through all the information we had. Bumblebee looked up at me as I came clipping down the stairs though he suddenly started coughing, spluttering out these mechanical sounds until he thumped his chest. "Bee? You okay?"

" _Sure! Just got…something stuck…in the throat._ " Smiling warmly to him I rubbed his arm as I passed and his gaze followed me until I reached out and picked up a box and shifted Dutch out of the way so that I could put it down and start rifling through the papers.

"You've got to break this case down. What we have here is an astronaut epidemic. M-I-A. Dead. Died in a car accident. Killed. D-O-A. Car death. It's like these guys can't drive." Simmons noted as he flicked at the photos of numerous NASA operatives who had all turned up dead in recent years. "They can fly into outer space, but they can't drive a car." Sarcastically rolling his eyes he sat himself down in the black office chair and began to squeeze on a stress ball as Sam answered the door.

"So what do we know?" I asked aloud, pursing my lips and fiddling with my hair. "We know that all these guys worked for or were involved with NASA at some point in their lives and all had something to do with the moon. Sounds to me that these people knew something they shouldn't." Lifting my head I straightened up as Sam let in some stranger right into his apartment and I was about to protest and remind him that we happened to have several very obvious aliens hanging around when he waved a hand at me, signalling it was alright.

"Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. It says NASA launched it in two thousand and nine." Sam read off the file that this guy, who must be his boss, had brought for him. "See, forensics show Wang may have messed with the code, preventing it from mapping the far side of the moon, which is also the dark side."

"We definitely have a pattern. It can't be coincidence that all these people end up with a rather sticky end after having something to do involving the moon." I stopped when I noted that Sam's boss was staring up at Bumblebee with awestruck wonder, whistling in appreciation.

"They infiltrate us, intimidate us, coerce us to do their dirty work and once they're done, kadoosh. A double-tap to the cerebellum." Simmons drawled as we all put our heads together once more, though I was keeping a close eye on the elephant in the room.

"So humans are working for the Decepticons?"

"I don't think this is about the Decepticons looking for something on the moon. I think it's about something they wanted to hide."

"This must have been going on since the first time a camera was sent up there." I reasoned logically, picking up a handful of photos and reeling them off at the guys. "All these people being silenced was just a means to an end. If the Decepticons really wanted to hide something up there, it wouldn't be hard to monitor probes and threaten those involved to tamper with the evidence." Down with Bee, Sam's boss was messing around like a child, putting up his fists and shadow boxing with Bumblebee.

"Come to daddy. Come on, throw down. Ha!"

" _Did you eat a lot of paint chips when you were a kid_?" Bee questioned as he tried to get the guy, Brazos, to back off but he didn't seem to want to take the hint.

"He's a freak." Pausing I arched an eyebrow and looked at Simmons.

"This coming from you of all people?" He shrugged carelessly in response. When Bravos started to get a little more intense with his playing around, Bee covered his face with his helmet and knocked Bravos to the ground and pressed his cannon against him, warning him to stay down though he only shrieked with laughter, seemingly having the time of his life.

"I'm ticklish!"

"Bumblebee." I called out in a singsong voice and his head looked up, helmet sliding back as he blinked innocently at me. Smiling I leaned over the bannister, shaking my head at him. "No messing around in the house, you know better than that." Chiding him gently Bumblebee complained, making hand gestures and blaming it on Bravos who was still roaring in a fit of giggles on the floor until Simmons whirled around in his chair to face him.

"Sir! We are having a pretty high level alien intel confab here, that I don't think you're cleared for, _errand boy_."

"Yeah, you're right." Staggering to his feet Bravos quickly swept his thinning hair back over his head and straightened his tie, recovering from his laughter but still grinning like a little child. "It's a bitching robot." Giving a distasteful look I hopped down and walked over to Bumblebee, standing with him as Sam had to practically push Bravos out the door in order to get him to leave. Whining with upset, I touched Bumblebee's hand and winked at him, perking him up a little to know I wasn't mad at him.

"Hey, I'm smoking over here. Downloaded missing Russian cosmonauts. Turns out the Soviets cancelled a manned mission to the moon. The moon! In nineteen seventy two and two of their cosmonauts went into hiding in America, and I just found them alive!" Brains declared as he transformed from the laptop he'd been downloading information into and hooked himself up to the printer where Simmons grabbed the papers it spat out, reading them over swiftly.

"You're a genius, Brains." Wheelie praised however just as I got some of the papers, the door opened and Carly walked in, freezing when she saw the general mess and clutter of her home. Panicking, Bumblebee meant to jump to his feet however in his haste, his head smacked against the chandelier and made it swing rather wildly, everyone yelling as Bee tried to rescue the light however it crashed to the ground with a clatter, making me flinch slightly as I pressed my eyes shut.

"Oh, that was smooth, Bumblebee."

" _Missed it by that much._ " He said weakly, poking at the chandelier guiltily.

"Would somebody care to tell me what the hell is going on?" Carly demanded in a none too impressed tone and I wisely turned and inched my way over to Bumblebee, turning around and pretending that nothing was happening and using him as a cover so that I wasn't spotted. I sense a lover's quarrel coming on and I am not participating in one of those ever again.

"Who are you?" Looking her up and down Simmons blinked in surprise, not having expected anyone else to appear. Guess he didn't know that Michaela and Sam weren't a thing anymore.

"Who are _you_?"

"Who am I? Who is that? Dutch! Frisk her!"

"Certainly." Wait, what? Making his way towards her despite Sam's protests, Dutch lifted his hand however before he even came closer to Carly she lifted a hand and eyed him in warning, holding her ground as she brushed him off.

"Don't touch me." Dutch immediately backed away, electing to not take his chances and hurriedly moved away from Carly who then turned to Sam, a questioning and expectant look in her eyes. "Sam?" Oh he is so screwed, I can tell by that look. I've seen it on pretty much every single girlfriend he's had since he and Michaela broke up. This is not going to end well.

"Angel. Uh. I was working. I'm sorry about this." Shaking her head in disappointment Carly stalked up to her room and Sam hastened to follow her, pulling the door shut behind him. Dropping a file, Wheelie threw his hands up in the air in defeat.

"Great! We're homeless."

"She lives here? Wow. You had your chance to frisk her." Simmons said to Dutch who protested instantly and defensively.

"I have a girlfriend."

"Really? What's her name?"

"…India." Smirking to myself I started to clean up a little, listening to Brains and Wheelie complain about having to fend for themselves when they get kicked out into the streets so I picked them both up and set them on my shoulders so that I could pick up the papers underneath them.

"Don't worry guys, if you get kicked out of here then there's always my place. You're always welcome there and I own it, so I can make the rules." That seemed to satisfy them and Wheelie was already thinking about moving in anyway. "But that means you will have to hide away your magazines because if I find them lying around my apartment, I will be throwing them into the trash no questions asked." That put him off the idea slightly. Simmons left to go after Sam since he'd followed Carly out of the apartment, Bumblebee shaking his head with a sigh. "Don't worry Bee, it's not your fault you were startled, accidents happen." I assured him.

"You call a giant yellow robot knocking out a chandelier an accident?" Wheelie questioned so I threw him a shady look to keep him quiet. With Brain's hit on the two Russian cosmonauts we got our kit together and went to track them down, though that seemed to be Simmons' and Dutch's area of expertise as they had the equipment to do so.

"Going to a gig on the hunt for two Russian cosmonauts. Nothing like driving in a Maybach, eh? Germans know how to make cars, let me tell you." Simmons said to both Sam and I as we sat in the back of his limo, waiting for our Russians to appear. "My Dutchman, former NSA cyber-sleuth extraordinaire, tracked them down here." He explained before sniffing, pursing his lips and looking around. "So, these cosmonauts went into hiding. Why?"

"It's easy to get lost in America, obviously they wanted to disappear." I answered, tugging at Sam's shirt to try and cover a little more of my stomach but it kept on riding up so I loosened the knot a little.

"Bingo. I got a match." Dutch announced and I quickly sat up, looking over his shoulder at his equipment as Simmons used his binoculars to spy on our targets as they walked past.

"You're a German Shepherd, Dutch." Prepping himself for every scenario Sam and I lingered around a little awkwardly with nothing to do but stand there until finally we went up to the club where we had seen our Russian cosmonaut walk in. "The thing about Russians is, they never like to talk. It's gonna take a little of the international language." Clearing his throat before knocking, Simmons lifted his chin when the panel slid back. "Do svidaniya."

"That means goodbye." I coughed to cover a laugh, smirking to myself before walking forwards and tapping Simmons's shoulder.

"Allow me. Give me some money." Eyeing me warily Simmons handed over a small wad of cash so I knocked on the door and this time when it pulled back, I held up the cash and offered to give the money to the bouncer if he would let us all inside. In Russian. Sam looked at me sharply as the language came fluently out of my mouth. There was a little banter back and forth, a little arguing and debating before finally the door opened and I walked through, giving the money over and leading the others inside.

"Where'd you learn that?" Sam whispered to me, impressed and amazed.

"I took a few classes when I was six at summer camp." Giving a toothy grin I stepped aside slightly so that Simmons could take the lead as he and Dutch went to face our secret cosmonaut who eyed us all warily, suspicion scratched into his severe features.

"Dutch, give me something tough." Jumping for his translation dictionary, Dutch fumbled thorugh the pages desperately, struggling and rather overwhelmed before weakly supplying something to his boss.

"Uh…b-baryshnikov?"

"We do speak English." Slightly awkward. I shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot, feeling a little outnumbered and outgunned as practically everyone in the club watched us like hawks. What I wouldn't give to have Bumblebee in here with us, I'd feel much more relaxed knowing that he had our backs covered and would be able to whisk us away from danger without even breaking a sweat.

"Dutch, you suck."

"It's a Cyrillic alphabet! It's like all the buttons you never push on a calculator!" Shifting a little closer to Sam I listened as Simmons introduced himself to the Russian Cosmonaut, Dimitri, who had a beautiful woman draped on his arm who seemed more than a little agitated, starting to argue with the woman at the bar however they spoke too quickly for me to follow and my Russian wasn't that great to begin with, however I very quickly understood the message when a gun was suddenly pressed against my nose and my hands shot up in the air to surrender with a panicked squeak, the commotion flaring as everybody yelled and froze instinctively, except of course Simmons.

"Go ahead, shoot me. I'm willing to die for my country. Are you?" He questioned the woman who had a revolver aimed right between his eyes yet still the moron didn't seem fazed. I seriously have to question that guy's sanity, he is literally insane. "You are beautiful. Has anyone ever told you you're beautiful? She's a beautiful woman." A hand gripped my shoulder to keep me from moving, pushing me to my knees however I tried to shrug them off at that point, refusing to go down and I was relieved when they didn't try to force me, allowing me to stay on my feet.

All at once Dutch was suddenly moving, taking me by surprise as he backhanded the barwoman with the shotgun and took it from her, going all kickass on everyone around him whilst Simmons yelled at him with his hands still held up in the air. "Dutch! Back in the cage. Dutch! Hold, Dutch, hold!" Suddenly everything went deadly quiet and still, the shotgun now aimed at someone's chest and nobody dared to move a muscle. Simmons relayed a few commands in German, seemingly snapping Dutch out of his sudden episode as he dropped his weapon and lifted up his hands in apology.

"I'm so sorry that is the old me."

"Okay, let's everybody just calm down, let's lower the heat, lower the guns, let's relax. World War Two is over." Incredulously I glowered heatedly at him.

"Simmons, do you ever _not_ say something completely inappropriate at the worst of times?" I demanded of him before shaking off the hand that was gripping my shoulder and lowered the gun that was pointed at my face. "Get that thing away from me before you shoot someone by accident. Jeez, I need a drink." I ordered something strong to settle my rattled nerves before hovering near the table where Simmons and Dimitri finally started to talk, communicating together about what happened with the cancelled launch. Pictures were scattered across the table and we all looked at them in turn, amazed at the fact that there was an actual alien ship on the moon.

"America first to send man to the moon. But USSR first to send camera. In nineteen fifty nine, our Luna Three take picture of the dark, the shadow side. Sees nothing, but in nineteen sixty three, Luna Four sees…"

"Strange rocks." Both cosmonauts supplied, pointed to the specific pictures and all four of us studied them carefully. "Around the ship. Hundreds of them."

"Wait I've seen these. These aren't rocks, these are pillars. Alien pillars for a space bridge. We know about them because the Autobots have five of these." Sam informed everyone and I frowned. That doesn't make any sense. Surely if there had been hundreds, Optimus would have brought them back?

"Decepticons must have raided the ship before Apollo Eleven ever got there, took the pillars, and hid them." Simmons supplied and suddenly it was all so much clearer in my mind. The Decepticons, of course. This must be why they're murdering all these humans, they're ensuring that no one will figure out what it was they were hiding up there and the fact that they themselves have possession of hundreds of these pillar things. We're so screwed. I don't know their plan, but I can tell it's going to be bad.

"It doesn't make sense. The Decepticons have the ship. They have all those pillars. Why would they leave Sentinel when he's the only one who can use them?" Sam wondered aloud, the Russians just frowning at us but we ignored them.

"That's just it, he's the only one who can use them but he'd been in stasis for so long, he'd shut down. The only way they could revive him was with the Matrix, which was probably why Megatron was searching for it so desperately three years ago and not just for his master. Megatron needed Sentinel Prime, and now we've brought back the one thing he needs." Eyes bulging, both Sam and Simmons stared at me before quickly he rushed to his feet.

"We've got to meet up with Sentinel, rendezvous with him and keep him safe."

"And pray Megatron doesn't raise hell to try and get him away from us." I added as the four of us hurried out the club with long strides, however I drained my drink first before leaving it. I've been in too many Decepticon conflicts with the Autobots to know that this is not going to pretty. Not pretty at all. A stiff drink is exactly what I need.


	24. Chapter 24

Wriggling uncomfortably in the seat of my brand new car I took deep breaths, unable to calm the nervousness and sense of foreboding which I could not shift. Sam was on the phone talking to Mearing, and by that I mean trying to get her see sense that everyone was in immediate danger, specifically Sentinel Prime. We'd already met up with him and now it was a race against time to get him back to headquarters before the Decepticons can catch him, otherwise we will all be facing very slow and painful deaths at the hands of our enemies. My boss is going to kill me if he ever finds out about all this, he thinks I'm off sick.

"I hope this thing works." I murmured, looking around at the interior of my car before moving forwards, falling in line so that I led the way with Sentinel behind me, Dino, Sideswipe and Bumblebee then following. My legs were trembling all the way, even when we hit the highway and the constant thrumming and pulse of my heart with the energon surfing through my body was more noticeable than ever before. It was only when three black Sedans transformed in the middle of the road did I realise why. The Decepticons had already found us. "Holy mother of god it's like this freaking nightmare won't end!" I wailed, biting down on my lip and shrieking as things started to explode around me.

It was hard enough trying to stay ahead of the three Decepticons who were quickly gaining ground, harder still to focus on what was ahead with those three monster hunter things bearing down upon us. "Sentinel hit the gas, hit the gas! Overtake me so that you're the last one they'll reach and keep on going, no matter what!" I yelled into my radio which Que had fitted for me and Sentinel shot forwards by means of response as I reduced my speed, slotting in behind him and kept a careful eye on what was going on behind me, though with my limited vision I couldn't see very much.

All I caught were flashes of bright canary yellow, black, scarlet red and silver as well as things crashing to the ground like overhead signs and huge chunks of the road being destroyed as the Decepticons continued to try and reach Sentinel. I think Dino might have actually already destroyed one by the looks of things, I think there's only two left now. Still, not exactly encouraging. My engine roared as I continued to speed forwards, weaving and gliding in and out of the cars I was overtaking very illegally and practically held my breath all the way back to NEST headquarters. When we were pretty much back to base, Ironhide came streaking past me and I inhaled sharply, watching him fly past my window as I guided Sentinel away from the Decepticons and to the safety of NEST where Lennox was already waiting and waving us in. "Get inside! Let's go!"

In the next heartbeat I was out of my car and striding forwards, my heels clicking against the tarmac as I rushed to Lennox and grabbed onto his arm. "What now? Lennox what do we do? Give me an order or a direction because I have no idea what to do next and this is all gone way out of control." I pleaded of him so he reached out and placed his hand on my shoulder, telling me to take deep breaths and calm down.

"Panicking won't solve anything, I need you to focus and stay calm, alright? You good?" Well I don't 'good' is the word I'd use but I'm not hyperventilating anymore, so that's something at least.

"Lennox! Hel!" Sam yelled to us as he, Bumblebee and everyone else arrived and I breathed out in elated relief to see that everybody was okay and I quickly ran to Bumblebee, pressing my hands against his hood and lowered myself down so that I could press my cheek against the smooth surface of his metal exterior.

"Bee I'm scared." I whispered and instantly he started to transform, giving a soft whine of reassurance and placed both his arms around me like a cage, hands cupped to protect me and I gratefully embraced him. "I don't want any of you getting hurt. God damn it, why couldn't Megatron have stayed rusting at the bottom of the ocean?" My anger made me want to punch out and strike something however when Bumblebee lowered his head to mine and placed a finger against my cheek to softly caress my skin, I lifted my eyes to his.

" _You don't have to worry about those kind of things…my life…is yours…and I will never forsake…all that we share."_ Bumblebee said to me as his radio blurred the different voices together, speaking to me in a way that only he could. " _You mean more to me…than you could ever know._ " A little speechless, I was unsure about how to take Bee's words. I mean sure, he's said all these things before, but there was something about the way he was looking at me, with such intensity that I couldn't bring myself to look away from him.

Before I could even begin to comprehend what was going through his mind, or even my own, Bumblebee stood back up after a final rub of my cheek with his thumb, as careful as ever to be gentle and Sam's voice dragged me out of my trance as he and Lennox spoke directly behind me. "We got Decepticons everywhere."

"I've got my whole team deployed looking for them. Ironhide! Protect Sentinel. Get him locked up inside." Lennox ordered as Ironhide and Sentinel both transformed, our favourite weapons' specialist nodding his head with a tone of surety and confidence.

"Consider it done!" Turning my head around I was almost swept up with the haste of everyone around me, forcing me to step backwards out of the way of a group of soldiers as they came running past and I stumbled slightly into Sam who naturally gripped onto my arm to steady me, glancing me over as my chest began to burn and pulse dramatically. Something was wrong, I feel like something extremely terrible is going to happen and it's starting to burn me from the inside out.

"Hey, you've got to guard him because he's the key to the whole thing."

"Indeed I am." Sentinel agreed, rising up to stand tall and proud, his ancient voice drawing all our eyes towards him as he turned gazed elsewhere, almost as if he were simply speculating a topic of light conversation. "What you must realise, my Autobot brothers, is we were never going to win the war. For the sake of our planet's survival, a deal had to be made…with Megatron." It happened all too fast. Before our minds could even process Sentinel's words, he had turned with his weapon in hand and shot Ironhide through the back.

My mouth dropped open, staring in horror, shock and pained disbelief. By the second shot, I was screaming. I was screaming so loud that my voice started to turn hoarse almost instantly but still I screamed. The burning sensation inside me seemed to break, at that point, fizzling out into a cold dread and fear as I watched Ironhide fall to the ground, grasping at his gaping chest whilst clawing to try and get away. "What have you…done?"

"I hereby discharge you from duty." Sentinel informed him without feeling or conscious, shooting Ironhide a third time and this ripped another scream from me as I stood there helplessly. Lennox grabbed onto my arms, trying to haul him back but I fought him off with such fierce suddenness that I was able to escape him and even as Sentinel began to shoot everything he could, I raced to Ironhide's side and gripped onto his shoulder and face as he wheezed and struggled to breathe, trembling uncontrollably though when he felt my hand upon his plated head, his face turned slightly so that he could see me.

"Hide, come on Hide, stay with me." I pleaded, tears dripping down my face as his blue optics flickered, losing their bright light. His hands were rusting over, becoming frail and stiff like the rest of his body and it rapidly continued to eat away at him. "Please Ironhide, please."

"Helen." Ironhide choked, still fighting for breath even though it must have been so painful for him. "Keep…them…safe." He asked me, lifting a hand even as it turned orangey red with a sharp metallic smell which penetrated my nostrils. "Protect them, for me."

"Yes. Yes I will, I promise. I swear I will." I cried out however before I could even answer him his face crumbled away into nothing and fell apart at my feet, the residue rust staining my hands from where I had touched him. My howl of anguish came as strongly as the first, unable to hold anything back as pain and grief stabbed through me like a blade of ice. The sound of clattering metal made me look through my fingers to my knees, seeing different parts of Ironhide falling away and when my eyes rested upon several cogs, I reached out and picked up the smallest one. It was stained with rust on one half, reddish in tone whilst the rest was pure silver. The pain deepened and without thinking I unhooked my necklace and threaded the cog through to join Optimus's, feeling it hang even heavier around my neck as I secured it once more.

Within seconds my grief had turned to uncontrollable rage as I gripped onto Ironhide's cog piece and I wanted nothing more than to stab a blade through Sentinel's back to make him suffer the same feeling I did. I wanted to make him bleed and rust whilst pulling him apart piece by piece until only his spark and processors remained before I crushed them in my hands.

A cold blackness swallowed me and I felt myself drop to the ground before waking up once more as the car. My engine roared as if I were still screaming before my plates and folds began to shift, transforming through sheer force of will until I stood up on my own two feet. Immediately I stumbled, wavering in clumsiness as I struggled to accommodate my new weight and proportions but that did not stop me. I clawed at the building, using it as a support as I followed after Sentinel. My eyes were constantly absorbing data into my mind, or my processor, lights flashing as they picked up weapons and electronic pulses as well as heat signatures, flickering back and forth until they settled on a single type of vision which I could focus with.

Inside I stumbled on my feet, feeling heavy footed and unable to properly stand upright as I seethed with enraged breaths, the bright red and purple paint of my body plates rising with each inhale of air. My body felt so strange in this form, so completely different from how my human body functions but I barely had time to consider any part of it as my eyes fell upon Sentinel, his gun firing at anything that stood in his way which left behind a trail of destruction. "Sentinel! What is going on? What do you think you are doing?!" Mearing's voice reached my ears and I lifted my head as I gripped onto a large tank for support, seeing Sentinel turn his head away from me. Perfect, he's distracted. This is my chance!

"I am a Prime! I do not take orders from you. Now! Return what belongs to me!" Resuming with his chaotic destruction, I took a deep breath then roared, launching myself through the air and took no heed of the warnings in my processor which told me that there was no way in merry hell I would win this fight. Winning didn't matter at that moment, however. All that I was concerned with was making Sentinel _hurt_ for what he did to Ironhide. He'd killed him!

With my lunge, I clamped my arms around Sentinel and hung off his back, yelling and screaming at the highest pitch I could muster just as a means to make his hearing processors feel overwhelmed. "Murderer! Murderer!" I screamed and struggled to hang on as Sentinel whipped around, trying to shake me off whilst I let go with one hand to punch him in the ribs, much good it did. I tried to search for a way to activate my weapons systems however before I even managed to figure out how it all worked, Sentinel grabbed my free arm and hauled me off him and I was flung over his head and slammed down upon one of the helicopters.

Electric pulses flared in all the areas that had been hurt, taking me by surprise but I had to quickly snap out of it as Sentinel loomed over me. "Half breed filth like you should not be allowed to live. You are Optimus Prime's greatest shame, one he should never created. He does not deserve his title!" The turncoat traitor spat at me as he spoke, lifting his weapon and my processors quickly supplied me with a reaction. My foot jerked outwards and I slammed my heel against his gut, throwing him backwards so that his shot went wide.

"Do NOT talk about Optimus like that, he is the GREATEST person, human or not, to ever exist and he's _MY_ creator! _MY_ FATHER!" With my voice bellowing like a thundering tornado I leapt forwards once more, letting my programmed instincts to take over as I grappled and fought with Sentinel however I could do nothing more than stall him, not even managing to hit him as he flung me back with a powerful knee to my stomach and I went soaring through the air, crashing against tanks, planes and other vehicles until I lay in a frazzled heap, buried underneath them. The blow was enough to knock me out, however I didn't return to my body. I lay in blank darkness, swimming in confusion and occasional bursts of light until finally I felt something warm enveloping me and a sense of weightlessness with a solid pressure underneath me.

"I got you cherry. You're safe, no need to worry about anything." Jazz reassured me and his voice roused me from my limbo. I was back in my human body and I felt everything ache like hell. It made me groan in pain as he carried me in his arms like a babe, cradling my head in the crook of his arm. "Feeling pretty rough, am I right?"

"Jazz?" All at once it came crashing back and I felt fresh tears sting my eyes, causing me to sob and curl up even as he held me. "Oh my god Jazz, he killed Ironhide right in front of me and I couldn't stop him!" Sucking in a deep breath I tried to sit upright though it was awkward, trying to perch myself on Jazz's arm as he carried me through the wreckage. "Can Ratchet fix him? If we can fix him then Optimus can bring him back to life with the Matric, right?"

"Cherry, sometimes there just ain't fixing things. Old Hide is gone, we can't bring him back. Not like that." Jazz's soft voice only made the blow all the worse. I choked on air, struggling to hold myself together and resigned myself to being miserable and grieving for my friend. Everywhere there was noise, noise, but all I wanted was peace and a quiet place. What would they even do with Ironhide? Toss him in a scrapyard like all other broken bits of metal? We can't bury him, it felt almost wrong in a way to enclose him in earth when this planet wasn't even his home. Suddenly I felt myself being shifted, exposed to the open air before a pair of larger hands encircled around me like a cocoon and I was pulled towards the spark which had given me life, the thrum and gentle buzz ringing in time with my own as the gentle pulse felt like a whisper against my cheek and calmed me.

"Your grief is all the more for your bond with me, little spark." Optimus said to me and his strong voice gave me strength, allowing me to lift my head as he opened up his hands a little so that he could look me in the eye. "Do not be discouraged, we shall honour our comrade and friend once we have turned his destroyer into dust and rust, this I promise you. I shall not rest until Sentinel Prime is brought to justice, since I am responsible for all of his wrongdoings."

"This wasn't your fault, Optimus." I said to him quietly as I reached out and placed my hand upon his jaw though he brought me closer so that I could reach. "None of this was your fault, how were you to know that Sentinel planned to betray you all this time? The only people who deserve to be ripped apart limb from limb are Sentinel and Megatron and I am not going to sit on the side lines anymore. I can help, I can fight with you. Let me help bring them down for sure this time."

"No, my spark. This is all too new for you and far too dangerous. It is safer for you if you remain here with your own kind and not be further swept along in the conflict of my race." Optimus said to me as he turned around and carefully let me slide off his hand onto the walkway so that we were at even height. "You have already sacrificed too much for us, I will not have you risk yourself again to suffer the same fate as before."

"But I want to help! I'm not just human anymore, I have part of your spark inside me and I'm running on energon! I can transfer my consciousness into my car, I'm not helpless anymore! All I need is a little time to figure out how everything works and then I can-"

"My answer remains the same. I forbid you to take part in this war, Helen. Do not test my patience, I am not against having the humans lock you away to ensure you remain safe." Optimus warned me in a deep, rumbling voice with a hardened gaze before he turned and walked away, transforming to then surge out of NEST headquarters to chase after Sentinel. In that moment, I felt desperately alone. Jazz looked up at me apologetically, thumping his chest in farewell before following after his leader with all the remaining Autobots also moving out to search for Sentinel Prime.

Alone and without any plan whatsoever, I just stood there for a while trying to think. I may not have a plan, but that's not going to stop me. Guess Optimus doesn't understand the human redhead mentality. We're traditionally stubborn, and I am no exception. Even if I have to break through every wall he builds around me, I am going to break through them in order to play my part, no matter what it may be. I'm going to bring that son of a bitch down, even if it means hunting him myself.


	25. Chapter 25

So this is how the world ends.

Not even the world itself, this is how my world ends, because when they told me that the Autobots were being exiled from earth, that's how it felt. At first I'd been dumbstruck, but then when the blow finally hit it I was doubled over and gripping my stomach as if I'd been punched by a Decepticon. I can't even begin to describe how it felt to learn that your entire family was being ripped away from you, that you were going to lose them forever and never see them again. I couldn't believe it. I refused to believe it, even when I knew it was the truth.

When they'd walked past me with Wheelie and Brains locked up in a cage, I'd snapped. I flew into a redhead rage of fury, lunging for the cage and trying to pry it free from the people carrying it, demanding that they released my friends. "Wheelie! Brains! I'm not gonna let them take you, you hear me? I'm getting you out of there!" I had clawed at the cage until my nails started to bleed, shaking off anyone who tried to peel me away as Wheelie gripped onto me.

"Don't let them kick us out babe! We don't wanna leave, save us!"

"No! No! Wheelie! Brains!" They had both called out for me as they were carted away and I was in such a blind fury that I started to attack everyone around me, punching and kicking until I had to be physically restrained and they would not let me go until I had calmed down.

Under armed escort I was brought to the secondary base where the Autobot spaceship was being held, now being prepped ready to be launched back into the atmosphere with all my friends, my family on board. "You can't go." I stated bluntly as Jazz came to see me first, kneeling down towards me. "You can't." My voice was barely above a whisper, throat cracking and breaking under the trembling force of my shaking body.

"I'm sorry cherry but your people have given us our eviction notice. We won't stay where we're not welcome." He said to me with a sad expression. "Primus, you have no idea how much I'm gonna miss you. I didn't think it were possible to care so much about someone who weren't one of my own. Promise you won't forget me now, okay cherry?" I couldn't help but laugh at his slightly vain tone, the teasing jab at my ribs also helping as I scrubbed the evidence of tears from my face, ordering myself to be strong and stand upright whilst with him.

"You kidding me Jazz-man? If you were human you'd be somebody I wouldn't ever forget. The fact that you're a giant mechanical organism from outer space is something I can't ignore." Stepping closer to him I held his face between my hands as we bowed our heads against one another, a personal intimacy shared between Jazz and myself as years of friendship and memories rolled through our minds. "I'm the one who should be asking you not to forget me. I'm just a face among thousands that you'll see before you offline."

"No way cherry. There ain't no face like your face in the entire universe." Jazz told me sweetly as we opened our eyes to look at one another again. "And no matter how far I go or how long we're separated, I'm still your guardian. That ain't never gonna change. I'll be with you all the days of your life."

"Sure. I'd like that. Keep me out of trouble." I agreed with a weak laugh, sucking in a deep breath before slowly letting Jazz go. He rose up as my hands left his face, a last lingering look before he turned and went towards the ship. Sam was yet to arrive and I wanted him to get here faster, because I don't know how much more of this I can take before I break apart completely.

"Sparkling." Optimus's smooth baritone voice made my head jolt upwards, realising that his hand had already come down and he scooped me up effortlessly and lifted me high above everyone's heads, our faces level. "I…I do not know what to say." I felt the same. In fact, everything we could ever want to say was expressed with such clarity through our bond that emotions just kept on pouring through. "Take heart, little spark, we shall always be connected across the stars. I shall think of you, always."

"Optimus…" Steeling myself I drew back my shoulders, still determined to be strong. "You are the closest thing I have to a real father. You are the best thing that could have ever happened to me and I regret nothing. Absolutely nothing. If I had to redo it all, I wouldn't change the way in which we met. I'd want for everything to happen as it did, because it brought me close to you. I'll miss you. I'll miss you so much, but you know that." As I spoke I lifted a hand to my chest where my heart thrummed with a soft vibration and Optimus exhaled deeply before leaning closer and drawing me into him. I gripped my arms around his neck, embracing him tightly before he set me back down on the ground.

"Farewell, my little spark." Optimus seemed unable to say anymore, too heavy with emotion so I watched him walk away from me, giving a nod of his head towards Bumblebee to give him permission to say goodbye also. It was at that point Sam arrived and I looked over to him as Bumblebee approached, still furiously trying to deny that this was real, that this was actually happening.

"Bee." I murmured quietly, feeling a solid lump rise to my throat. "Bumblebee." Dragging my head around, I forced myself to look into Bee's soft gaze however that seemed to be the moment that broke me. I completely lost all self control, falling to the ground on my knees and clenched my fists as my back and shoulders were wracked with terrible sobs, quiet as they were, they still made my chest ache and throb in pain. "Bee…Bumblebee…"

 _"Sssshh…Don't worry, 'bout a thing…'cause every little thing…is gon' be alright…_ " Bumblebee sang to me as his hands waved rather worriedly and helplessly over me until finally he managed to shift his finger underneath my chin and lift it up and slowly the smooth swell of Sarah McLachlan's velvety voice filled my ears. " _I will remember you, will you remember me?_ _Don't let your life pass you by…Weep not for the memories…I will remember you, will you remember me? Don't let your life pass you by…Weep not for the memories_ …"

"God damn it Bee, you're too darn sweet and kind and good." I cursed slightly as I let him help me stand back up though I gripped onto his hand tightly, looking imploringly into his eyes. "Bumblebee I…" But even as I tried to think, I couldn't think of anything to say. My mind and my words became a jumbled mess until all I could do was stand there with my mouth hanging open. Desperately I tried to say something, even just a goodbye but I was frozen and motionless, just staring at him as he gazed at me.

" _It won't feel right…not having you close…by my side."_ He said to me finally. " _But don't worry…I'm sure…that we'll see each other again…even if…I have to…travel the stars…and move…heaven and hell…I'll find us a way._ "

"Bumblebee." That was it. That was all I could say. As a final gesture Bumblebee reached out and touched the pendent around my neck, making me look down and instinctively grab onto the metal cog that I always wore without fail. I guess that was his final way of saying that I'll always have a part of them, even if it's just in memory but for me, that wasn't enough. It just wasn't. I watched in sadness and sorrow as my friends and family walked away from me after their farewells with Sam but before I could even go to comfort him, several men in suits stepped out and surrounded me. "Hey, what are you-hey!"

Alarmed when I felt handcuffs being placed around my wrists I started to struggle, writhing and lashing out to try and get free as I yelled. "What are you doing?! Let me go! Let me go! Sammy! Sammy!"

"Helen!" I was dragged back away from Sammy who was also restrained, kept well away from me as he thundered. "What do you think you're doing?! Let her go! You can't take her away!" Take me away? What did he mean?

"The instructions were very clear, son." One of the federal suits informed us both as Simmons protested.

"Locking away an innocent woman is a blight against justice! What are you going to do? Clap her in irons and let her rot away in a cell separated from everything she knows? It's a disgrace!" He made his opinion very well known however from his wheelchair, there was little he could do though Sam was still fighting even as I was pulled towards one of the cars. I was still yelling for him, desperately trying to escape as the fed simply shrugged.

"Decepticons said if we did not restrain the Autobot mutant, they would consider it a declaration of war. The terms negotiated were the exile of the Autobots and the permanent incarceration of the human-Autobot hybrid. I'm just following my orders. We're shipping her to Chicago where she'll be interned." My eyes widened in fear as I was finally shoved into a car, staring out the window where the last thing I saw was of Sam being tackled to the ground as he tried to race after me. That was it. That was how my world ended. Being taken away and locked up wasn't even the worst part of it. If anything, it was a godsend because that way, I could wallow in my misery, and that suited me just fine.


	26. Chapter 26

They put me in a place far away from any vehicles and my own car, the one that Que and Ratchet had made for me, was locked away on the other side of town so that I couldn't transfer myself into it. I found that distance was an important key to this whole thing, if I was too far away, I couldn't merge my consciousness at all and this far underground, it's a wonder I'm not buried with the prehistoric fossils of some ancient and long forgotten race. Soon enough I lost track of time since all I had was artificial light and UV rays to keep me from getting sick.

The room itself was decent enough, I think it's a step better than normal jail cells because the walls were padded and there was a bed for me to sleep on, but nothing else. I was left alone in a room which gave me no real light or a breeze. Nothing. There was just nothing. They didn't even let me keep my necklace, putting me in some stupid white jumpsuit with plain plimsoll like shoes without laces in case I tried to strangle myself. I wasn't sure what this place was or who else was here, but the silence was already driving me crazy, especially when my heart started to hum impatiently with warning and I could feel the vibrations from above travelling through the earth.

I paced back and forth countless times, gripping my hair and rubbing my face, trying to think of a way to either escape or even just keep myself from losing my mind. Hours must have gone by because I was given several meals, all of which were sent down this chute. Again, it was decent food, but I wasn't particularly hungry at this point. I missed everyone so much. I wanted to see Sam, to give him a hug and share how we were both feeling about saying goodbye to our friends, but more than that I wanted those friends to come back. Memories kept on circling around and around in my head until I was dizzy, unable to focus as I paced and paced.

After becoming tired I tried to sleep, though it was restless and constantly interrupted by me waking up and moving because of stiffness or a spike in my chest before I'd closed my eyes again. I was ready to give up, to accept that this was the way things had to be from now on, until I heard the elevator doors ping. Instantly I was awake, opening my eyes and sitting upright to look through the bars of my cell and several figures stepped through. Two of them I recognised and when I did, I flew forwards. "Sammy! You bailed me out faster than I expected, good job. Epps, good to see you again."

"You too." He nodded with a kind smile, swiping the key and Sam hastily pulled open the door.

"You okay? They didn't hurt you or anything?" Sam fussed as I jumped on him, giving a bear tight hug and revelled in the fact that I was free. "Listen we gotta go. The world's gone crazy and Decepticons are attacking Chicago and we still have to rescue Carly." Grabbing my hand Sam dragged me towards the elevator as I blinked, hardly registering what he was saying.

"Wait what? What happened to Carly? Is she okay?" And that's when everything came spilling out about Dylan, Carly's boss, and how the brand new car she'd been given was actually Soundwave, a Decepticon who kidnapped her and now Sam was here in Chicago to try and rescue her. "Jesus Sam, you are nuts." I said to him as we rose back up to the surface. "How come you were able to get me out?"

"Pulled a few strings. Since the Decepticons went ahead and attacked Chicago anyway, Director Mearing practically ordered your release in the hopes that you could help us somehow. She's already working on having your car brought back to you since you're the only one left who might be able to actually stand a chance against a Decepticon." Sam said to me however when we reached the top and I was flooded with sunlight, Sam stopped and took my hands in his, making me blink as I felt something cold yet familiar being placed into my palm. "Listen, Hel, I don't know how to tell you this, but…the ship that the Autobots left in…the Decepticons destroyed it. They're gone, Helen." For a moment I just stood there, looking down at my necklace which Sam had recovered for me, however when I did not feel that cold sinking feeling as I had done before, I knew that he was wrong.

"They'll be back." I decided firmly before striding forwards. "Let's go save your girlfriend and give this asshole a kick in the balls of betraying the human race, shall we?" Blinking and unsure how to answer, Sam hastily followed after me as Epps brought us to the rest of his team he'd gathered together. We were just outside of Chicago and therefore the blockade, allowing for them to come and get me, however when we first set our eyes on the city and just how much…how much destruction the Decepticons had caused and were still causing, we all stared in silent trepidation and when my foot brushed against a human skull, I had to clap my hand over my mouth and turn away to keep from throwing up. It was a child's skull.

"My God. We came here to find her in the middle of all that?" Epps murmured as his team shifted uncomfortably, grasping their weapons like it were their lifeline.

"Are we really going out there, Epps?"

"I'm not going in there."

"No one's going in." Epps affirmed authoritatively, however after a brief pause Sam turned around with a steady gaze.

"I am. With or without you, I'll find her." And just like that, he was walking away. Epps hurriedly chased after him, trying to make him see reason and as I listened, I slid my arms out of my jumpsuit and tied the sleeves around my waist so that I could move around a little more comfortably, a plain grey tank top covering my top half with my necklace sitting prominently on my freckled chest.

"You're gonna get yourself killed, Sam. Is that what you want? Is that what you want?! You came all the way out here to get yourself killed? Huh? Listen to what I'm saying!"

"She's here because of me. Do you understand?" Both men faced one another off, each one trying to do what they believed to be right and neither willing to compromise. Men. Just typical. Both of them trying to play the hero though one was considering the safety of his team, whilst the other was considering the safety of his loved one. What romance.

"Listen, if you go in this building, that's if she's even still alive, there's no way you're gonna be able to reach her! It's over. I'm sorry, but it's over." Before anything else could be said, Eddie, one of Epps' team, yelled loudly in warning just as a large dark mass came shooting overhead. All of us yelled and tried to dive for cover and I was stuck right out in the open with bright red hair sticking out like a banner saying 'here's an obvious target go ahead and shoot me!'. I swear to god, this happens every time I get involved in this kind of thing.

"Sammy down!" I launched myself forwards and hit the ground, crawling on my belly as the ship came around and began to open fire on the pockets of people who panicked and tried to run, screams filling my head and with a jolt, I saw a flashback of Mission City and Egypt. So much screaming and sheer amount of noise which I still could not shake even to this day. I rolled underneath a truck, trying my best to keep my breathing steady as the rushing sounds of conflict sounded out of my vision, however when I heard what sounded like the ship crashing to the ground, I frowned and peeked out from under my hiding place.

Sure enough the ship had been felled, but I'm pretty sure none of our guys hit it. Warmth flooded my chest and instinctively, I knew. Who else could it be? I knew they were alright, the bond didn't lie. "We will kill them all." Quickly I shuffled out from underneath the truck, picking myself up and dusting down my clothes as Optimus Prime walked towards us with his shotgun in hand, heavy gaze resting upon the Decepticon as it crawled out of its ship.

"Wreckers, kill it." The Wrecker known as Leadfoot lead his team in dismembering the Decepticon and I had to say, although I felt no joy at seeing a Decepticon so brutally ripped apart, I felt no sympathy either.

"Your leaders will now understand. Decepticons will never leave your planet alone and we needed them to believe we had gone. For today, in the name of freedom, we take the battle to them!" Optimus declared as he pointed towards the heart of the city as I stood by his foot, listening to the familiar engines of Bumblebee and Jazz come speeding towards us along with all the others. A calm peace washed over me, a sense of completion at having everyone back together and I clung to it for all I was worth, because that sensation was what's going to get me through the upcoming madness.

"I saw your ship blow up!"

"The ship? We were never in the ship! We designed the damn thing, didn't we?" Roadbuster retorted to Sam's comment in his heavy accent, the three of them coming forwards heavily laden with firearms, prepped for battle and ready to fight, as it seems.

"We were hidden in the first booster rocket to separate. Splashed down back in the Atlantic, just as planned. We ain't going nowhere."

"Yeah, no one's exiling us." Brains agreed as he and Wheelie appeared, standing on the hood of a car.

"The Autobots are staying right here. We're gonna help you win this war." Estatically I called out their names and ran to them, grabbing them both and hugging us tightly. "Wow hey! Easy there easy! You'll crush us into scrap if you squeeze any harder!" Wheelie complained so I apologised and let them go, unable to help but smile. "Huh, you're a real softy, ain't ya?"

"That's me." I agreed with a guilty shrug before turning back to Optimus, his voice filling the space with a tone of command which everybody instinctively respected.

"They're surrounding the city to make a fortress, so that no one can see what they're up to inside. Our only chance is the element of surprise." Surprise will only get us so far. If we're going to take down this entire Decepticon plan, whatever it is, we're going to need a way to actually stop them with minimal casualties, but since we don't know everything, it'll be hard to even know where to begin.

"I think I know where to look!" Oh thank god somebody has a plan. "They've got Carly locked up in the middle of Chicago. Now wherever she is, Dylan Gould is bound to be with her and maybe I can get him to talk." Sam suggested. I wasn't happy with the plan, even less happy at the idea of Bumblebee flying up in that ship with Sam to go rescue her and I made my protests largely known. "You gotta stay here with the Autobots, okay Hel?"

"No not okay! Why am I stuck sitting on the side lines again whilst you get to go play hero? You know Sam, being the sidekick all the time starts to suck after a while!" That didn't actually bother me, what I worried about was Sam going on his own to face an obviously very dangerous and mentally unstable guy. I mean, you have to be mentally unstable to work with Decepticons, right? Either that or seriously desperate and desperate people are just as scary. With that in mind, I didn't want Sam going on his own. "Why don't you just stay here and _I'll_ go rescue Carly? Huh?"

"Because."

"Because what Sam, you like the glory? Putting yourself in this kind of danger all the time is exactly the reason why Carly walked out on you, you take unnecessary risks. Just let me do it, I don't want you getting hurt like last time!"

"Carly is _my_ girlfriend, alright? It's my job to protect her and when some guy has her trapped in the middle of a war, it's my job to go bring her back and make sure she's safe!" I was this close to decking him, I swear to god, he's so stubborn! Why can't he just let someone else take the risk for once? It's like he's addicted.

"So why do I have to stay behind?!"

"Because I can't risk losing you as well as Carly!" I paused a moment, unsure of how to answer as Sam gripped onto my arms rather tightly. "You're all I got left, I can't let the Decepticons or Dylan get you, then I'd have to do whatever they asked no matter what. I can sacrifice a lot of things Hel, but you're not one of them." Touched by his words I stood there blankly as he gave me a quick hug then darted towards Bumblebee who'd already figured out the ship, allowing Sam to climb up and when I realised they were leaving, I snapped awake.

"Samuel James Witwicky!" I thundered, glowering heatedly as Sam encouraged Bumblebee to run for it. "I swear, when I get my hands on you you're going to wish you were a Decepticon's pet!" Grumpily I folded my arms, pouting by myself until Jazz inched forwards and nudged the back of my legs, allowing me to take a rest on his hood. "Glad you're back Jazz-man."

"Ha, didn't think we'd actually leave you behind did you cherry?" I smiled at that, looking back at him adoringly before getting up and letting myself be ordered what to do. I rode with Jazz, all of us making our way to the rendezvous point where hopefully Sam, Bumblebee and Carly would be waiting. We stayed out of sight and moved precariously, wanting to avoid attention so we split up into smaller teams as well to minimise our chances of being discovered and eventually we made it to the pre-arranged meeting point. I stuck with Jazz as Epps, Carly and Sam made contact with our own people through a drone that had been shot down, giving the information they needed however when I heard that the Decepticons planned to actually bring Cybertron _here_ , it was nothing like I could have imagined but in a way, I could understand their reasons for doing all this. It didn't make it right, but they must have really loved their home to go through all this trouble just to bring it back. "What you thinking cherry?"

"I'm thinking I'm going to need my car." I responded shortly before getting up and walking forwards. "Hey Epps, where did they take my car?"

"Your car? Man, that's on the other side of the city. They took it to a place to lock it down, worried it would go live or something so it's not going to be easy to get back. We don't even know if our guys were able to get the message through to release it." Epps said to me and I thought for a second before asking for the exact location. I plotted it out in my head, thinking of all the possible routes I could take to get there. The fastest, the widest, the one less likely to get me caught. "Don't tell me you thinking about going after it."

"I need it." I responded simply, folding my arms. "We're going to need every gun we've got and even if I'm a rookie, it's better than nothing and I am not sitting on my ass hoping for things to go right. No, this time I am going to _do_ something to help win this fight and that means I'm going to get my damn car and I'm going to rip off every Decepticon head I find and attach a pair to another's crotch just for the sake of it. Understood?"

"Yes ma'am." Epps answered instinctively, not arguing with me so I asked Jazz to go with me and ignored Sam's plea for me to not go. This time I put my foot down, telling him that he had already rescued Carly now it was my turn to do something spectacular and I was going to need my car in order to transform. Sensing he was fighting a losing battle, Sam conceded and told me to be careful and watch my back.

"Don't need to watch her own back when she got me there. Ain't that right cherry-pie?" Jazz questioned and I nodded my head with a smile to him before he transformed, opening up his car door for me.

"You be careful as well Sammy. I'll see you real soon." I promised him, giving his cheek a quick peck and his arm a squeeze before turning around.

"Sparkling." I paused at Optimus's strong yet unspoken order to halt, slowly turning my head up towards him. Choosing not to speak, I opened up the pathway between our spark and heart to let him feel everything I did. I wasn't satisfied being helpless anymore. I wanted to be a warrior, a soldier, I wanted to help make a difference and if my friends and family were going to put their lives on the line then I was going to do the same, no matter what the end may be. "Stay close to Jazz. He will keep you safe." Finally yielding even against his pride, I rushed forwards and flung my arms around Optimus's ankle to embrace him securely.

"I love you." I told him and he gave a jolted movement of surprise, baffled and unable to respond before I had jumped into Jazz and he sped off with me as I gave him directions. We moved through the deserted streets and I did my best to ignore the devastation, wanting nothing more than to block it from my mind. "Hold up a second, I think we've got some unfriendly movement going on up there." I said, spotting something moving and Jazz quietly came to a halt, gliding into an alley where we waited and watched in silence as two Decepticons passed us by.

"It's too crowded up here cherry, we ain't getting nowhere like this."

"Agreed. Should we chance the underground?" I suggested and Jazz agreed it was worth a shot. Driving me to the closest underground pass he transformed and we moved together, Jazz scouting ahead and insisting that I stay behind him all the time. "Jazz, aren't you being just a little bit over protective? I'm not about to trip over and die you know."

"Can't help it cherry. After all you're the boss's little sparkling and since Bee's soft on ya, he asked me to take good care of you. Just doing my job, besides it ain't wrong of me to want to keep you safe cherry, after all we been through I like to have you at my back keeping watch for me. There's nobody I trust more." He said to me however I became a little distracted by something he'd said about Bumblebee. I didn't dare ask him, however, considering our situation and so I pushed it to the back of my mind and attempted to focus on the task at hand.

We crawled through the city like mice, doing our best to stay out of sight and not be noticed, however when the bridges started to go up I reasoned that the Decepticons must have been alerted to our presence. "What now?"

"I can probably blast my way through though that'll mean we're fighting all the way in and we'll have to fight our way out again, plus there's no guarantee we'll be able to find that car of yours. Plus, I got no way of seeing what's waiting out there without exposing myself. We'd be going in blind, cherry." My brow furrowed slightly and I tried to think, Jazz pressing his white painted body against the tunnel wall with me hiding behind his legs as he kept a close eye on the Decepticon movement outside. My gaze fell upon an abandoned car not too far away from us.

"I have an idea. Jazz, make sure I don't fall and crack my head open." I said to him then focused on that car, taking a deep and cleansing myself before willing myself to become that car. It took a moment or so but it worked and with a rush, I was suddenly conscious of the fact that I was in a very different place. Staying absolutely still I scanned my surroundings, reading the information and tracked all the heat signatures around us, getting an exact location on all Decepticons in our area. With my task fulfilled, I returned to Jazz and woke up in his arm. "Okay we're clear from this side of the street to the building over there, but then we'll have to stop and I'll repeat this until we've reached the location, that way neither of us will be in danger."

"Gotta say cherry, this little trick of yours sure comes in handy." Giving a chuckle and a smile Jazz swung me up on his shoulder then made a beeline for the building to get under cover, his weapons up and permanently ready to fire. We were lucky that time as no Decepticons spotted us and once we worked out our system, it worked rather decently. I'd scout ahead by 'possessing' abandoned vehicles, as it were, then Jazz would move us forwards and we'd repeat or stay put if there were enemies close by.

"My car is nearby." I suddenly stated, lifting my head as Jazz and I hunkered down in an alleyway, listening as Decepticon patrols scoured above. Jazz had us both hiding until they passed, but I was sure I could sense my car nearby.

"That's great, can you shift into it?"

"No, it's just out of my reach, they must have started to bring it further into the city to reach us before…well before they got caught." I turned my head away slightly, not wanting to think about it and Jazz cocked his head at me slightly before reaching out and gently poking my side.

"Chin up cherry. You got us this far, now let's go the rest of the way. I'm right here by your side and I ain't going nowhere." His absolute faith in me gave me the courage I needed, allowing me to raise my head and confidently take us forwards. I was determined to do this and when we finally spotted my car, I made Jazz hide us away. "But it's right there cherry, just shift into it and we'll be out of here."

"It might be a trap. I mean, the Decepticons could be waiting anywhere. Let me shift and scan one more time just to make sure then I'll get back to you. Besides, it's still hooked up to that tow truck so I'll need to get it down first. Get ready to move, okay?" Nodding his head Jazz lifted his hand to curl around my back ready to support me as I closed my eyes and searched for a nearby vehicle. I found a fire truck turned on its side so I shifted into that, searching for heat and radiation signatures, energy pulses and anything that could signify a trap but found nothing except the remains of the escort that had been killed whilst trying to bring me my car.

With a sickened sensation in my stomach I returned to my body and gave Jazz the all clear, allowing us to move forwards and unhinge my car. It felt good to be back in the wheel and I wasted no time in starting the engine and driving after Jazz, letting him lead the way back. We drove as fast as we could through the streets, drifting around corners side by side and in perfect unison and I couldn't help but feel a smug sense of pride as I kept pace with Jazz who by far a better driver than me. A sharp stinging sensation in my chest gave way to the sense that danger was approaching, so I scanned the outside and as we came hurtling around a corner, I saw one of the buildings suddenly light up with an eerie blue light which shot directly up into the sky. "They're activating the pillars!"

"Frag it!" Jazz swore and picked up the pace, taking the lead so I followed. "We got trouble, our guys are pinned down with 'cons all over their asses so I need you to stay back cherry, let me handle this."

"No way!"

"I'm not asking!" Jazz yelled back at me and I blinked in surprise. He's never taken that kind of tone with me before, it must be bad. Does that mean Bumblebee and the others were really in that bad of a situation. "Now hang back, I'm telling ya!"

"But Jazz…" But he was already gone, speeding off and leaving me behind as I sharply tugged on the wheel to avoid a stack of wrecked cars, bringing my focus back to the road however when Jazz transformed and leaped across the bridge and caught onto one of the ships, he sailed off into the skies and I had to brake hard in order to halt before I hit the edge of the bridge, swerving to avoid going over. "God damn it!" Furiously I struck the wheel then gripped onto it, bending my head down in frustration. We went all this way and at the end, he tells me to stay behind as well. To tell the truth, I don't know how I can help, I just know that I want to. I have to do _something_. I want to protect them, I want to have a body as strong as theirs and shoot down my opponents before they could hurt the people I care about.

There was nothing I wanted more in this world than to be badass, kickass and with an arsenal to make Ironhide proud. I have to try. Living won't mean anything if I don't have the people I love around me, so I might as well die trying than live alone. As these thoughts rattled around in my head, I started to feel a strange sensation at my fingers. Opening my eyes I looked and found my veins were completely aglow, the energon coursing through me pulsing more intensely and starting to assimilate with the thrum of the car I sat in. My mind seemed to blur for a brief second before everything sharpened in focus and I was standing up, rising taller until I was completely upright and perfectly balanced. What the-?!

For a moment I marvelled at how different it felt this time, as if my two bodies had completely merged together. I searched the ground but found no trace of my actual body, but then my own processor seemed to answer for me and when my chest plates shifted back, I looked down to see myself curled up in a tiny ball safely held within a chamber of sparking energon with my own spark. "This is…weird, but seriously cool." I murmured before lifting my head as the plates of my features shifted into place, my elegant helm sliding forwards so that my brow was better protected. "Hold on guys, I'm coming." Even as I took a running jump forwards, I knew that something had changed. I had perfect balance and I could understand how everything worked and functioned. Not once did I trip or waver, racing forwards like a jet of red and purple as I honed in on the Autobots' signatures and sure enough, they were surrounded by Decepticons.

Jazz had broken through one of the lines but had been restrained and taken down, yelling furious insults and threats. I have to move faster, I have to save them. No matter how hard I pushed my body, it just couldn't reach them in time. I had to watch another one of my friends die before me, sweet Que who had helped make this body for me and had carefully programmed everything to perfection. They turned him around and shot him in the back, Decepticon filth. I'm going to shred them to pieces! Without meaning to, I let out a huge roar of fury and before I knew what was happening, my battle protocols had activated and my optics were drawing in all the information I needed.

Positions, strategy, tactics, openings, everything. What's more, the plates in my back suddenly slotted out of place and stretched outwards into a set of wings which I did not know I had, the boosters causing me to shoot forwards and I spiralled around whilst my processor calculated the exact timing of my shots as I stretched out my arms and fired with the double barrel cannons that appeared upon my forearms. The Decepticon pushing Bee into the ground received the first wave of fury however at the unexpected appearance of my wings, I went slightly out of control and crashed into the ground though I aimed the best I could for one of the Decepticons. I smashed into them, clashing heads and I twisted awkwardly to try and attack though it was a mad mess of grappling and limbs.

Above us one of the ships came crashing down and amidst the confusion, the Autobots broke free and began to fight back once more as their captors lost their focus. "You are going to rot in whatever hell you guys have for the rest of time!" I yelled, wildly scrabbling with my opponent until finally I managed to punch them in the face and dislocate the jaw socket. "You stinking…rusting…worthless…pile of…scrap!" Finally finding an opening I ducked down and took out the Decepticon's legs, throwing them up into the air and levelled my cannon straight at its spark, burning through it completely.

"Cherry watch out, behind you!" Yelping in surprise I jumped to the side instinctively, scrambling backwards clumsily and tripped over my own feet. "Cherry!"

"Agh!" Instinctively I lifted my arm to shield myself from the Decepticon who was aiming to punch through me, the blades of my arms slid outwards and bulged into a partial shield which clanged loudly when the Decepticon hit it, breaking its knuckles and it howled in pain as I blinked. "Okay, that is also new." Guess I still have a lot to learn about my new body. As I looked at my other arm it also developed a shield which when I barred my arms together formed a complete kite shield, protecting me from most of the damage and with a breath for courage, I charged forwards and used the shields to slice and hack my way through my opponent, slamming it against their face before pulling up my cannons again and shooting through it. It dropped easily like deadweight, which was all it was now and I stared at it in disbelief.

That's the second Decepticon I've killed, was I seriously doing this? I can't believe it, I'm actually doing this! Right now I don't know whether I should be scared witless or excitedly pleased at my success. Quite frankly, neither were exactly good options right now. "Get down young 'un!" Ratchet ordered as he reached my side and forced my head down just as the ground exploded near to us but with my shields, I was able to deflect the blast. "You are brave to be here but foolish to think you are ready for this sort of ordeal, stay behind me!"

"No arguments there, I'm fresh out of obstinacy and dispute." I informed him simply as I fiddled with my arms, poking at things and trying to figure out where the rest of my weapons were concealed. A blast came hammering towards us and I only just heard Ratchet yell before he shoved me out the way, thinking of himself second. "Ratchet!" Panicking I tried to rush to his side as he lay there struggling to get back up however a Decepticon came out of nowhere and rammed me in the side, causing my entire chest to seize up from shock as I was powered into the ground and a gun pressed right into my face.

The Decepticon spat at me in Cybertronian as I struggled underneath him, grunting and attempting to break free but I was pinned. Staring up at the blood red eyes, I was terrified that those were the last things I was going to see, but then all at once the Decepticon was ripped away from me by Jazz and Dino, both of them taking him apart as Sideswipe went to Ratchet and concerned blue eyes suddenly filled my vision as it hazily came back online. Bumblebee crooned at me softly, lifting my head which now fit snugly in one hand as he lifted me up slightly, helping me to regain my senses. "Did I…did I help at all?" I asked him as my shields, wings and cannons all disappeared, melding back into my body with sliding parts and pieces. It was a weird sensation but one I was quickly adjusting to.

" _We'd all be dead and gone…if it weren't for you._ " Bumblebee told me as he knelt down next to me, one arm cocked on his knee. " _You sure showed me…exactly the stuff…you're made of._ "

"Thanks Bee, but I know you're lying. That ship was coming down anyway, I just made an ass of myself." I responded but did not allow myself to feel despondent. We were still in the middle of a war after all, so there's no time to feel sorry for yourself. Bumblebee helped me to my feet, making whirring noises to ask if I was okay and I checked myself over, making sure that everything worked properly before assuring him I was fine.

"Hel! Helen! Hey!" Sam and Carly yelled as they ran towards us and instantly I dropped down on all fours to stare at them.

"Holy crap you guys are tiny, this is crazy!"

"Glad you're alright but we gotta get moving. Those pillars have to come down or all of Cybertron will be coming _here_ and we will be the ones rebuilding it, so come let's move!" Wasting no time at all I transformed and revved my engines as everyone else did the same and I fell in line with everyone, though Jazz stuck painfully close to me as we drove though he was giving me the silent treatment, obviously pissed that I'd disobeyed him. When in car form, my body emerged back in the driver's seat though I was still unconscious, not even moving as I drove with the others to where we met up with Epps, Lennox and whole bunch of different guys from SEALs and the ground Army who had engaged with some Decepticons and were really kicking ass.

"Autobots, attack!" I screeched to a halt at the command and transformed myself and found cover behind an abandoned truck and fired at the Decepticons though I wasn't much good with my aim now that I was freelancing. Compared to the others I felt like an infantile rookie but I was determined not to back down, eyeing up Shockwave and the other Decepticons as well as my surroundings, trying to figure out something useful to take them down with.

"It's our world now! Commence transport!" A surge of energy turned my gaze upwards and the entire sky was filled with the approach of a giant planet built like a beehive with hexagonal shapes locking together. Even though it was daunting, it was also beautiful in its own way.

"Oh my god, oh my god!" Hearing Sam yell I caught sight of him and Carly hiding under a bus stop, heavy fire striking the areas around him and Carly was screaming in fear.

"Hold on Sammy, I'm coming!" I leaped forwards and vaulted over the truck I had been hiding behind, locking onto one of the Decepticons and aimed for its broad chest as I moved. It was quite a spectacular shot and I was rather shocked that it hit but I saved my celebratory victory and focused on Sam and Carly, dropping down in front of them and enclosing my arms like a shield to protect them as stray bullets bounced off my hide. Warmth flared within my spark and immediately I recognised the presence of Optimus who came flying in blazing glory, slicing through the Decepticons like it were nothing before engaging with Shockwave. "Optimus!" As another explosion sounded I flinched, guarding Carly and Sam closer as the former gripped onto me tightly and Sam lingered over my arm to watch the arrival of our salvation.

"You die!" Optimus growled to Shockwave before turning and shooting at the cupola which held the control pillar, shattering the structure and the pillar dropped, halting the transportation. "Get down here, Sentinel!" With an enraged snarl Sentinel dropped down to the ground as I busied myself with moving Carly and Sam to a safer position, carrying them in my arms as I ran.

"Optimus, you forget your place. I bring you Cybertron. Your home, and still you choose humanity."

"You were the one who taught me freedom is everyone's right." Optimus returned and the two clashed, drawing my eyes towards them and I wanted to go over there and help but the logical side of me said that I would only be a hindrance and would probably get in Optimus's way. As the two fought, a huge blast rocked the entire bridge and I was almost flung off balance if it weren't for Jazz and Bumblebee grabbing onto my hands and pulling me along with them as we pushed forwards the assault.

"You are one crazy chic." Jazz said to me bluntly before pulling me down to avoid getting hit, my eyes wide and my breaths ragged from the rush of battle. Guess I wasn't used to being involved to this degree, I hate the fact that I'm barely being of any help at all. Damn it!

"Reinforcements! Decepticon ships, fire at Optimus!"

"No!" I yelled instinctively and before I knew it, I was running for Optimus before either Jazz, Bumblebee or anyone else could grab me. Springing forwards I powered my legs into a jump, twisting in the air over the head of a Decepticon and I grabbed it as I soared, dragging it with me before crushing it into the ground and when I landed on my feet I squeaked, stumbling as I fought for my balance but somehow I managed to stay upright, scrambling with flailing arms as I continued towards Optimus who was beginning to become overwhelmed by his opponents.

"Decepticons, trigger the pillar! Restart that pillar!"

"I can't hold them! The ships have us pinned!"

"Optimus! Optimus!" A fresh wave of determination coursed through me and when I reached him, the shield pieces formed on my forearms, growing larger and larger until I slammed them together and separated them from me, holding the fully formed shield and ducked under it with Optimus behind me, grunting and straining against the powerful blasts of the ships above me but it gave us a window to recover.

"Sparkling, you should run as far away from here as you can." Optimus laboured, pressing his hands into the ground and trying to force himself up.

"I am _not_ leaving you here so don't talk crazy." I answered back, still holding up the shield with one hand whilst my other reached out and gripped onto his shoulder, helping him to sit more upright. "I'm one of you, and that means I won't run when you need me. Whether you like it or not I'm part of this fight and I have the right to defend my own planet as well as the people I care most about. So suck it up. We've got Decepticon asses to kick." A little taken aback, Optimus paused before nodding his head and the slates that covered his mouth slid into place, signalling he was ready.

The ships were taken down by inbound Tomahawks, allowing me to break the shield and emerge with Optimus back into the fight. With my shield sliding back into place in my arms I felt a ripple down my back so I reached behind me and grasped what felt like a hilt or a handle so I drew it and found myself grasping a huge shotgun. This body was still offering me up surprises, but I'll take it. "Assist the others, I shall go after Sentinel!" Optimus ordered me so I nodded my head and turned my fire upon the Decepticons who were regrouping for another assault, striking them in their sides and allowing Sideswipe, Dino and Ratchet time to return fire, taking them out.

So caught up in the fight that I hardly noticed time passing and as I continued to move forwards I transformed back into a car and weaved through the wreckage of Chicago, joining up with the ground troops and Lennox jumped onto my hood as I drove, firing at the enemy whilst I continued driving. It had been some time since Optimus had gone after Sentinel but I could tell something was wrong. My entire left side was aching and I could feel his pain through our connection. He was in trouble and I wanted nothing more than to turn around and go to him, but right now I was pinned down with the others going after the pillar.

Sam was standing there with Dylan, a metal pole with a chunk of concrete in his hands and he used it to smack Dylan backwards, electrocuting him and when he fell, no one attempted to help him. "The pillar's still connected!" Leadfoot yelled as we continued to push and already I was accelerating forwards, aiming directly for the control pillar.

"Rip that pillar down!" With clear orders, I transformed as I kicked off the ground, twisting in the air as Lennox gave a yell but my hand curled around him to keep him from falling, pulling him with me before I tossed him at Bumblebee and I turned my focus to the pillar. I blasted it with my cannons, trying to tear it apart before I crashed into it and tore it down, deactivating it completely as I ensured to crush the core and ignore the powerful jolts of electricity which surged through me and made my core spark.

With the pillar destroyed, I quickly turned to look up at the sky and watched with unbound relief as the ships and Cybertron itself were drawn back into the void from wherever they had come, a spiralling hole spiralling across the sky in a whirlwind of imagery I never in my life thought I would see. Suddenly I felt another burst of heat in my chest, causing me to flinch and grip it tightly. Optimus! Before anybody could distract me I made a beeline for the bridge, transforming back into a car and refusing to slow down as I shot into view and bolted down the street to where Megatron towered over both Optimus and Sentinel. Oh no you don't you junkyard bastard, not this time.

In a rush I transformed back into my alternate form, slicing out my arms as I skid over the concrete and caused sparks to fly everywhere, thinking of nothing but seeing Optimus through this alive. "Megatron!" I couldn't even think of a cool catchphrase or battle cry but still it seemed to do the trick, as Megatron turned around ready to shoot however I was already on in. My foot crashed into his face as I pivoted on the other, yelling with raw determination as Optimus rose back up to his feet and grabbed his battle axe with his one remaining hand. Seeing him dismembered like that sent me into a blind rage, thinking of nothing but making Megatron suffer. I leaped onto his back and tore at his parts, ripping out his shoulder joint and tearing at his face whilst Optimus slashed with his axe to gouge through his torso and Megatron could do nothing but scream and roar as I grasped his head with both hands, planted my foot on his back and pulled.

Never in my life had I done something so violent and brutal even after participating in this battle, but as I held Megatron's head in my hands looked down at the flickering red optics, I felt nothing but disgust as I dropped it to the ground then kicked it away. "Decepticon punk." I muttered, feeling a moment of heaviness and exhaustion wash over me before I slowly narrowed my gaze onto Sentinel as he crawled like a rat on the ground.

"Optimus, all I ever wanted was the survival of our race. You must see why I had to betray you." He tried to rationalise however Optimus did not waver as he picked up Megatron's fallen weapon and loaded it, approaching Sentinel as he knelt weakly on the ground.

"You didn't betray me. You betrayed yourself." As Optimus raised the gun I did not look away, neither did I feel sympathy as Sentinel yelled and pleaded for his life but with a single shot, his voice was silenced. Optimus fired two more times to make sure that the job was done, leaving Sentinel a broken machine on the road. Does this mean it's finally over? It was strange, hearing so much quiet after all that blaring noise. "Little spark." Turning my head I looked up at Optimus who still towered over me even when I was at least five times my usual size. "You truly are one of us." Suddenly I was glowing. I smiled up at Optimus as he placed his hand on my shoulder, patting it gently before stepping aside to make way for Sam as he ran to Carly. Everyone was coming together, emerging from the battle unscathed. Or at least, most of us.

"I love you." Carly's whisper caught my ears and I turned my head, looking around to them both with a smile before I folded down back into my car and after a few seconds I woke up, sore and exhausted but now human. It was almost a relief to be back in a body I knew how to control and wouldn't start sprouting jet wings without warning.

"I love you." Sam was responding as I got out the car and started to stretch, clicking my back and flexing a little to try and get some feeling back in my body. "You're the only thing I need in this world, and I'll do anything to make it up to you, I promise."

"I'm going to hold you to that. Just never let me go."

"I promise." Okay, so maybe I still wasn't over the fact that Michaela and Sam had broken up, but I have to admit, Carly and Sam were very cute together and I could tell they were utterly devoted to one another. Besides, she wasn't so bad. She held her own during an alien invasion after all, so that has to count for something. As the two held onto one another, Bee started to scramble around in his chest and began to drop large cogs and bolts onto the ground, clattering loudly.

"Ooh, rings." Carly picked one up, inspecting it closely as Bumblebee started to play the wedding march song, waving his fingers in time and I couldn't help but smile as I watched them. "I love this car!"

"Bee, you've got to slow it down. You got to slow way down, okay?" Sam said to him bluntly but I could see that smile of his. That goofy little smile he'd had ever since I'd first known him. Guess we will be hearing real wedding bells in the future, but not for a while. Without even realising it I had reached up and gripped onto the necklace I wore, brushing my thumb over the groves of the Cybertronian language which simply said 'Prime'. Maybe one day I'll earn that title too, then I can proudly call myself Helen Prime for real. Now that I think about it, there is nothing I would want more.


	27. Chapter 27

Rolling over onto my side I slowly awakened, blinking until I could clearly see two pairs of bright eyes in front of me, one red, one blue. Alarmed at having their faces so close to mine I freaked, yelling and instinctively grabbed my pillow to whack them. "Brains! Wheelie! How many times do I have to tell you not to sneak into my room?!" I yelled at them as they were flung off my bed and hit the floor with yelps of complaint.

"Hey! You were the one who told us to wake you up if you slept past your alarm clock, don't go beating the messengers!"

"Yeah that's right, you can't kick us around just 'cause we're small." Brains agreed with Wheelie as they picked themselves up off the floor and dusted themselves off whilst I rubbed my eyes and looked at my clock. Crap I'm so late!

"Sorry guys, I'm so sorry." I apologised as I leaped out of bed and ran to my closet, dragging some clothes out and rushing into the bathroom. "Help yourself to anything you want!" Since Carly and Sam were in the process of moving into their own house which they had just bought together, Wheelie and Brains were staying with me for a couple of days. Chicago had happened over a month ago and they had been pulled out of the wreckage of the ship they'd destroyed and inadvertently saved the Autobots' lives and I had spent my time fixing them back up and bringing them back online from their stasis lock.

"Yo babe! There ain't nothing on TV and your films are all crap!"

"Excuse me, how very dare you?! I have nothing but the classics and best films ever made!" I argued as I shimmied into my work clothes, whacked on some makeup and did my hair so that I looked presentable before emerging once more into my apartment where Brains and Wheelie were helping themselves to my sofa, my TV, magazines and I think Brains was trying to eat my radio. "Okay you two, try not to trash the place whilst I'm gone and for the love of god don't go outside like you did yesterday, you know people are still tetchy about Chicago and I don't want you ending up as a decorative head on somebody's wall."

"Yeah, yeah we got it, sheesh. It's like you don't have any faith in us babe."

"I have faith that you guys have a knack for breaking things." I answered Wheelie as I walked past Brains and expertly caught the vase he'd knocked off as he scrambled around everywhere. "Look I know you're bored but we're all going out tonight so please, just _try_ to be patient. I'm working on figuring out something for you guys so that you're not cooped up all the time but at the moment, I'm coming up short." Wheelie and Brains looked a little guilty at that point as I madly scraped some butter on some toast which I probably shouldn't have used since the bread had gone stale, but oh well.

"Sure thing. Since you're letting us crash at your place, it's the least we can do, right Brains?"

"Yeah, we'll be good." Brains agreed and I smiled at them both as I hurried about, grabbing my keys, phone and everything else I needed before quickly grabbing them both into a hug.

"You guys are great. We'll be at the movie by six I promise, you'll love it." Leaving them with plenty of things to occupy themselves with I rushed to my car and drove to work. I was excited about tonight because we were all going to the park for an open house movie viewing like what they did in the eighties, I've been looking forward to it all week. I'd invited Sam and Carly but they were busy moving and had made plans already so I had invited the Autobots. A few of them were willing to sneak out to join me, though I think Director Mearing was just turning a few more blind eyes when it came to them, allowing them a little more freedom. It will be the first time since Chicago that we'd all get to hang out together and also the first time in a long while even before then.

I could hardly focus all day at work, thinking about the film and already planning on picking up popcorn and snacks though I'd be the only one eating them. Even though I became heavily overrun with work, my boss pouring absolutely everything onto me and expecting me to do things like pick up his dry cleaning and send flowers to his wife for an anniversary that he wasn't going to get to because of a meeting. Seriously, these rich bastards are ruthless, I swear to god I am never going to marry a man with money or a job that he pays more attention to than me, that would just be a disaster and it's probably what had happened to my parents.

I'll admit it felt strange that I hadn't seen them in over three years but we'd long since established that I was estranged from them and neither tried to get back in contact with me, so I wasn't overly broken up over it. I'm not even sure where it all went wrong, it's like they were just constantly disappointed in me no matter what I did and they never paid attention. I guess it's your typical neglected kid story, I'd get into trouble and act out just so that they would look at me. Putting such thoughts to the back of my mind I purposefully hid myself away as a means to not get roped into a brand new task which would take me over my working hours and the moment my day here was at an end I bolted.

Quite honestly I was relieved to escape. This job was starting to suffocate me and quite honestly I wanted nothing more than to leave but my contract was for a year. If I can stick it out until the end then I'd have job opportunities everywhere, maybe I'd even get one abroad and see a little more of the world. Hey, since I'd saved it a couple of times, I think I should go take a look at what I'd helped to prevent from being taken over by Decepticons. On the way back home I stopped at a store to pick up some snacks as well as my weekly groceries before heading back home. "I'm back guys." I called out as I wriggled through the door with all my bags before butting it closed with my hip. "Wheelie? Brains?"

"Babe! Thank god your back, I was ready to start pulling my nuts out!" I paused a second, eyeing Wheelie warily before I realised he was talking about nuts and bolts, evidenced by the way he was tugging at one of them. "What's in the bag? Huh? Did you get me anything? Did ya? Did ya?"

"Wow now take it easy. You know I'm starting to think that I spoil you too much, your manners are appalling." I chastised him though I was smirking inwardly as I pulled Wheelie off my leg then picked up Brains from where he was munching through a bunch of wires I'd picked up from the hardware store so he'd stop chewing mine. "Now both of you sit tight just a few minutes more, I need to put the groceries away then get changed."

"We'll help, won't we Brains?" Wheelie said, making Brains look up and blink dumbly. "Come on, get off your fat ass and help the lady will ya?!" Unable to stop myself I chuckled, walking through to the kitchen as both Wheelie and Brains jumped onto my shoulders for a ride. "Right here we go, you take of those bags over there and we'll pack 'em away."

"You don't have to help out if you don't want to guys, I didn't actually mean anything when I said you were rude. You have a mouth like a sailor but that's cool with me." I said but Wheelie insisted, Brains chipping in and agreeing that I look after them so this was the least I could do. Shrugging in acceptance I started to hand things over to them and they'd climb up into the cupboards and slot things away rather neatly, though mostly they had to ask me which cupboard they went in and several things got knocked over but I still enjoyed myself and the light chatter and banter was a welcome change to the usual quiet of my apartment. Once it was all done I head into my room and got changed, wiping off my makeup and putting on something casual but a little funky.

I pulled on one of my older jackets absolutely layered with band badges and patches with tassels hanging from the back at my shoulder blades and splotches of sequins and sparkles I'd personally sewn or glued on in my teens. I was glad it still fit and I fixed myself up with a pair of cowboy boots and a rodeo hat as well since we were going to see a western. Feeling a little more like my old self I decided to add a little bit of colour to my lips and eyes, fiddling around until I was satisfied. Grabbing the final shopping bag I went back into the main room. "Alright you two, since I'm all dressed up it's now your turns. C'mere."

"Wait, what?!" Wheelie yelped in alarm as I lunged for him and he yelled and protested loudly, kicking out and struggling against me as I pulled out the toy's cowboy uniform and made him wear it instead. The boots wouldn't go over his feet however I managed to attach the belt with holsters and little plastic guns as well as secure the neckerchief around his neck, the jacket on his back with the sheriff badge and the little cowboy hat as well. "This is against my rights! I demand you release me, I ain't your little toy doll I-oh hey, this ain't so bad." Seeing himself in the mirror after I put him down, Wheelie turned around and admired himself. "Not bad at all, I look pretty cool."

"Uh huh, aren't I clever? Your turn Brains, don't think you're getting out of this."

"Oh come on, can't you leave a bot be?" I chased him around the apartment until finally I caught him and dressed him up too. Once we were all ready I grabbed my purse and head out with both Brains and Wheelie hidden away in my bag though they poked their heads out slightly. "Still don't see why we gotta hide away like criminals. We bots saved these people's lives!"

"Yeah it sucks Brains. People don't have no respect anymore." Wheelie agreed.

"I know it's hard but just try to ride through it for the time being. Things will calm down and everything will go back to the way things were in no time. You'll see." I promised them both. "Besides if anyone gives you trouble then I'll set them straight for you. Nobody will mess with me, especially if I have my car nearby."

"But you left your car at home." Wheelie pointed out to me bluntly but I just smirked and continued walking.

"True, but we got something better to watch our backs." Stopping on the sidewalk I watched as several cars with bright, flamboyant colours came gliding around the corner, revving their engines and gracefully coming to a halt, drawing everyone's attention. I couldn't help but think that Jazz and some of the others enjoyed the attention as they continued to make loud roaring sounds even at a standstill, lavishing the fact that they were being admired by everyone around them. "Such show offs."

"Yeah, dickheads." Snorting slightly I quickly recovered myself and slid into the passenger seat as Bumblebee opened up the door for me.

" _Why hello there…you're looking mighty fine._ "

"Thank you Bee. Are we all ready?" Bumblebee clicked and whirred in answer before moving forwards and heading to the park where they had set up a huge white screen and everyone was already getting ready with their picnic blankets and food spread or sitting in the back of their trucks or the hoods of their cars. The dusky sky was steadily getting darker and as we drove past and instead head towards the hilltop where I had found the perfect spot for everyone to relax and be themselves without being spotted by someone. It was sealed off to the public, however I had no qualms about sneaking in and setting up on the hill where we could still see the massive screen as clearly as if it were right in front of us.

"Alright cherry, let's get this party started!" Jazz cheered and boosted up his speakers with some rap music which he started to break dance to. I have to wonder how Jazz ended up being second in command, he was such a goofball sometimes it made me laugh.

" _Ssh! Keep it down…or they'll…find us!_ " Bumblebee warned however Jazz merely brushed him off before starting to shadow box with Sideswipe, everybody transforming and finding a comfortable spot as I smiled and flung out the blanket I'd brought with me, using a few rocks to pin it down before placing the food bag on top. Wheelie and Brains were already perched on a jutting rock with their binoculars, spying on the people below and grading the women.

"You guys that's gross, quit it."

"But that lady down there has got an ass like a…"

"I don't want to know!"

"Aw come on babe don't be jealous, you know you're the only woman for me." Sniggering at Wheelie's antics I rolled my eyes and left them to it. Ratchet was already stretched out and taking a few minutes to himself and Dino had climbed up one of the trees to get the best view, quite happily perched like a bird, which left Bumblebee and myself. It was a shame Optimus couldn't come, I'd hoped he would have been able to make it but he'd said that he had things he had to do. Quite honestly I was worried about him. Losing Ironhide and Que had been harder for him than anyone else because he felt responsible for their deaths. Ever since Chicago, he'd thrown himself into locating the last of the Decepticons and bringing them down, it was almost like an obsession.

"So why this movie cherry-pie?" Jazz called to me as he hung upside down from a tree branch.

"Nothing beats a good old western. Horseback riding, Mexican stand offs, outlaw hunting and gold digging, there's nothing quite like it." I answered him simply as I sat down on the blanket and wriggled until I was comfortable with a good view of the screen though I couldn't quite make out the smaller details. "It might not be for everyone, but I know Ironhide liked them. I thought this would be a good way to honour his memory." There was a deep silence and I panicked, fretting that I'd upset them all however when I felt a warm hand on my back I looked towards Ratchet who gave me an affectionate smile.

"You really do care about us, don't you Helen? Thank you, I am sure Ironhide would appreciate this gesture, even if he wouldn't have shown it." That would be like Ironhide, always carrying a stiff upper lip. With the mood now reduced to a quiet reverence we all watched the movie though after a while, everyone started to really get into it, especially Jazz and Sideswipe as they took sides. I'd seen this film a hundred times before but it never lost its charm and I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. Bumblebee was sat next to me, one leg propped up as he leaned back on his elbow.

Sitting next to him, I was suddenly struck with a memory of Chicago and something Jazz had said. Bee was soft on me. What exactly did he mean by that? I didn't want to think too much into it, that Jazz had simply meant that Bumblebee just felt protective over me like he did with Sam, however my conscience wouldn't let me let it go now that I was thinking about it and the more logical side of me reasoned that there was more to it than that. Little things kept on popping up in my head, small looks or sounds, even songs Bumblebee had sung to me which all indicated something more. No, I'm just being stupid and ridiculous. There's no way, it's just my imagination and I'm reading too much into it. Maybe it really was time I got a boyfriend and started seeing people if I'm making up these kind of fantastical ideas.

About halfway through the movie Bumblebee tapped my shoulder, making me jump slightly as I had been focused on the tense atmosphere of the screen. "Bee you scared me!"

" _Sorry…just thought you might…be cold._ " Blinking I looked down as Bumblebee placed a blanket around me like he were wrapping up a doll. He was so kind hearted, it made my chest tingle slightly as the sweet gesture warmed my admittedly rather lonely heart.

"You're too nice to me Bumblebee, thank you."

" _Don't be silly…nothing…is too good for you._ " Giving him a small smile I shifted a little closer and leaned against him, returning to watch the film and he seemed content with me using him as a leaning post. Everyone made comments every now and then, voicing their opinions about the cinematography and the poor quality definition and I had to explain to them repeatedly that our technology wasn't always as good as it is today and that at one point, films were recorded in black and white. They were completely amazed at this fact and it made me laugh when Wheelie and Brains commented that for a genius alien race they were pretty ignorant. After that I had to mediate between everyone, keeping everyone calm and ensuring that Wheelie and Brains weren't turned into tin cans.

After the film had ended we all hung out together, closing in and as I listened to the air fill with laughter, I felt more at home than ever before and I was a little disappointed that our time together had to end. Curfew was curfew, however, and I'm not going to risk Mearing's wrath should they be late. "Yo cherry, me and Sides are gonna head out for a ride. You okay with Bee taking you home?" Jazz asked me and Dino instantly decided he was going to follow along so I assured him I'd be fine.

"You go have fun, you deserve it."

"I already had fun, this is just extra. I'll see you real soon my 'lil cherry pie, peace!" Flipping back on himself Jazz folded up then sped away with Dino and Sideswipe, both of whom thanked me for inviting them out and getting them a free pass away from base. Chuckling to myself I waved them off, watching as the dust trail rose in their wake until they were gone.

"Youngsters." Ratchet grumbled before he too transformed. "I shall return to base, shall I take a message to Prime for you?"

"No need Ratchet, he knows everything." I told him affectionately as I patted his side. "Drive safely okay? Let me know if there's anything I can do for you." Ratchet rumbled back and I smiled, stepping away however before he left Wheelie and Brains rushed forwards, yelling for him to wait.

"Hold up! We're coming with ya and check out the new base. That okay with you babe?"

"Sure, please try not to get in anyone's way and behave yourselves or I will come and drag you back home where I will make sure life is perfectly boring for you both." I warned them so they gave me scout's honour that they would be on their best behaviour and Ratchet promised me he'd keep an eye on them. With a flash of his sirens he pulled away, leaving Bumblebee and I standing alone. "Well, guess it's just you and me big guy. What do you say we drive back slowly?" Bumblebee nodded and whirred in agreement, kneeling down and folded himself up into his distinctive Camaro form and the car door swung open for me.

" _You need a ride?_ " He asked me teasingly as I slid into the seat and settled myself in familiar surroundings.

"Such a gentleman, Bee. What would I do without you?" Bumblebee gave a proud sounding whir of agreement before slowly moving forwards, crawling along the path at a snail's pace. "Uh Bumblebee? Is everything alright?"

" _You asked if we could take it slow…I just don't want…things to end…so soon._ " Bumblebee explained to me and I smiled softly as I leaned back against the leather seat and brushed my hand against the steering wheel.

"I know Bee, I know." Bumblebee hummed at me before going at a more reasonable speed but still, I don't think he went over thirty the entire way. He played me Frank Sinatra songs all the way back as we remained in comfortable silence, content with merely being with one another. I was actually sad to see my home because I knew it would be cold and rather empty. I'd gotten used to having someone around by now, it felt weird having to sleep by myself. Maybe I should get a cat or something. "Well big guy, this is me." I sighed softly as I sat with him for a while. "What do you say after my contract with the firm ends I try and apply to work for NEST? Even if it's just an administration job, at least I'd be closer to everyone."

" _There'd be a lot of people…who'd really…like that. It just don't feel right…without you there._ " Bumblebee said to me as I watched his radio glow with a soft blue hue. " _Feels like something's missing._ "

"You sweet talker you, I bet you were a real hit with the ladies back on Cybertron, am I right?" A various assortment of sounds came through the radio like ardent chatter with tones of embarrassment and bashful denial, making me laugh. "Aw don't be modest Bee. If any lady-Autobot were to pass you up then they'd be the fool of the universe and I would be seriously pissed. Whether I'm big or small, I'd kick their butt if they hurt your feelings."

" _Aw shucks…you're making me…blush!_ " Chuckling together I sat with Bee for a while longer before he sadly informed me that his curfew was coming up so I leaned forwards and kissed the dashboard.

"Do you even feel it when I kiss you Bee? I don't know if you guys actually have sensory receptors like we have skin." I asked him and he assured me that he could feel my affectionate kisses every time so I smiled and kissed him again, giving a light peck before grabbing my things and swinging my legs out onto the sidewalk. "I love you Bee, tell Jazz I said goodnight for me?" Bee whirred back an affirmative so with a happy expression I closed the door and walked to my apartment, halting outside and putting down my bag of eaten snacks to fish around in my purse for my key.

The street was deserted and the lights that filtered down were harsh, turning the pavement a metallic silver colour. It was rather cold out and I was shivering already as I dug around for my key which seemed to have fallen to the bottom of my purse. So focused on my task, I didn't really acknowledge somebody approaching until their footsteps came within earshot and I glanced up. A nondescript person stood there, just some average Joe kind of guy with a low slung baseball cap but he was smiling so nicely at me that I couldn't help but relax. Out the corner of my eye I could still see Bumblebee parked on the other side of the street, waiting to make sure I got in okay.

"Good evening ma'am."

"Good evening, am I in your way? I'm just trying to find my key." I explained to him with slight embarrassment and desperately clawed around for it until finally my fingers closed around the smooth metal and I quickly pulled it free. "Found it."

"Sorry to bother you, but I can't help but wonder, aren't you that lady from the TV? The one who works with those Autobots?" He asked me and without thinking, I answered truthfully.

"Why yes I am, is there something I can-!" A loud bang rocketed through my ears and I felt something slam against my chest like it had been hit by a sledgehammer. The breath was knocked out of me and I froze in place, staring at the gun that was pointed towards me with a smoking nozzle before the man wielding it turned and dashed away. I heard Bumblebee make this horrible wailing sound as he transformed but after that I didn't really take notice of anything.

Consequentially to having the breath knocked out of me and the shock of pain which spread across my chest, my knees buckled and I fell onto my back and lay there, swimming in limbo for a few moments as a heat gathered but not the usual kind. This time it was because of the blood. It bloomed like a rose against the cold and I felt extremely cold at that moment, staring at an open black sky before two bright luminous optics stared down at me, filling my vision with a blurred light before I closed my eyes and felt no more.


	28. Chapter 28

My chest was in so much pain that I couldn't even move. Everything was a blur for a long while, mostly white and intermediate burst of colour such as blue and green. In addition to the pain, I felt a crushing sensation of worry and impatience which flowed into me from an outside source and only after I had regained consciousness did I realise it was from Optimus, so the moment I could form a coherent sentence in my head I called out to him, wanting to let him know that I was alright. "Wow hey, hey, we got movement!" Somebody yelled as I turned my head and groaned. "Miss Clarkson? Miss Clarkson can you hear me?"

"Don't call me that." I answered groggily, lifting up my hands and blinking in confusion as I saw a tube feeding into me along with several wires which were attached to my skin. "Where am I?" Opening my eyes a little further as I adjusted to the light everything came rushing back to me. "Was I shot?!"

"Please calm down ma'am, help is on its way. You are in a place of safety so there is nothing to fear, just trust us to take care of you." This guy, who I presumed was from NEST because I could see the uniform, was doing his best to keep me from tugging at the wires and make me lie still as I twisted my head to look around me. We were in what looked like a hospital room, except one wall was entirely made of glass and although the blinds were drawn across I had this gut feeling which told me that on the other side of that glass were the Autobots. "Miss?"

"I'm fine, just a little…I don't know." Sighing I let myself relax against my pillows and closed my eyes for a few moments, playing through everything that had happened that night and tried to pick out any details that might help me find the guy who shot me because quite frankly, I'm pissed.

"I understand, you just lay there quietly until the doc gets here." The soldier, who had most likely been assigned to guard me, gave the news of my awakening to Lennox before waiting for the doctor to arrive. I was expecting a field paramedic however when a proper looking Asian doctor with greying hair tied neatly swept back walked inside, I frowned.

"Yes, it's all a little confusing but don't worry, it'll all make sense. My name is Doctor Jong and I have been in charge of your surgery and recovery since you were brought here." Jong explained to me slowly so that my fuzzy brain could keep pace. "Here being the Washington base of the human-Autobot alliance, also known as NEST. Your friend brought you here three nights ago and he was in quite a state. Fortunately the bullet missed all your vitals and all that was needed to remove it from your shoulder and staunch the bleeding." The doctor continued to go on explaining everything to me as was standard, however once he was done my mind was so frayed that I could barely think.

"I want to see Optimus, and Bumblebee, can I see them?" Doctor Jong spoke to my guard for a moment who then stepped out to make the request. Whilst that was going on I had to go through several tests though mostly it was just blood pressure and things like that. Apparently Director Mearing wanted to talk to me before I could see the Autobots, however I felt a strong wave of anger from Optimus as well as something crashing in the distance, making Jong jump slightly. "It's okay." I told him softly as I lay back, a small smile painting my lips. "That's just my daddy."

When the door opened and Mearing strode inside, she curtly nodded her head to the doctor but focused her gaze intently on me. "You look like crap." She told me bluntly and I struggled to contain a laugh because doing so hurt quite a bit and I for one was done with feeling any more pain. It sucked that morphine burned out of my body too quickly because of the energon, like, really sucked.

"You ever been shot before? See how you look after." I retorted. My quick witted jab earned a small smirk before she stepped closer, coming to the end of my bed and stood upright like a stiff board, holding her hands in front of her as a professional mask slipped across her face.

"Miss Clarkson I cannot apologise enough for what you have been through. You are lucky you were not more seriously injured or even killed. It seems that there are pockets of civilians who are protesting against the presence of transformers on our planet and…well. Some are more radical and extreme than others. I know it might be difficult and traumatic, however if you could tell us anything about the person who shot you then we would be grateful for your help."

"There wasn't anything distinctive about him, I remember thinking he was nothing more than your average Joe. White male, late thirties early forties maybe? It was dark and the light outside my apartment isn't great but I'd say he had dark hair, was about six foot two and wore a wool lined jerkin and a baseball cap, no distinguishing markings. I'm sorry Director Mearing, I really can't say much more about him. Even if he was in a line up I wouldn't be able to point him out." I said to her as someone wrote down my statement. I could tell she was disappointed but I added that he had actually talked to me before shooting me so if I ever heard his voice again, I'd definitely be able to place it so that was a small consolation.

I was made to walk through the entire scenario, recall every detail until they were satisfied and left me alone, and by that I mean Mearing chased them out. "You take it easy until you're better. I'm placing both you and Witwicky back under witness protection, however your friend made the request for non-invasive shadowing." Seeing my frown, Mearing explained. "He didn't want any obvious protection or bodyguards so he has agents with both him and that girlfriend of his incognito. Now there's only you to take care of, so for the time being you'll be staying here."

"What about work?" Mearing stopped when she reached the door, pulling it open but deigned to look back at me.

"You got fired yesterday morning. Sorry to break it to you, but your boss is a dick who didn't understand the fact you'd been shot. I almost punched the guy." Yeah, I know that feeling. "Don't worry, I won't leave you floundering. When you're up and on your feet, you can come work for me. I need a new assistant as my old one quit, I think you'll do just fine. You've got guts and a spine that doesn't break under pressure. I could use someone like you." Unable to answer I simply nodded my head, wincing in pain. Still remaining at the door, Mearing paused before she spoke again. "If you want to be cheered up, go look out the window." Leaving me frowning she left, posting two guards outside the door.

Curious by what she said I slowly sat myself up, carefully moving as not to accidentally open up anything. The doctor had already removed the drip and the wires to make me more comfortable, so after I managed to get up on my feet I walked over to the huge glass windows which swallowed the entire wall and reached for the blind controller, pushing the up button and waited as they rose upwards. Almost immediately I recognised the blue with red flames, noble gaze looking into the window and I felt relief flood through me.

Optimus stood at the window looking in and I wanted to break through the glass to reach him but I restrained myself. Instead I walked forwards and leaned my forehead against the glass, my hand reaching out towards him but being halted by this transparent barrier. "My little spark." His voice hummed with regret and remorse, days of gnawing worry and fear eating away at him from the inside slowly being quelled.

"I'm alright." I promised him, lifting my head to look at him and smile. "I'm going to be okay, Optimus."

"It is a good thing you cannot identify the human who did this to you." Optimus told me severely, his voice growing cold and filled with rage as his hand clenched into a fist against the glass where I listened to his slightly muffled voice. "Because if you did, then I would have hunted him down and made him pay for what he has done, human or not."

"There's no need for that. We can be more careful from now on, _I'll_ be more careful."

"All the same. If anyone is to tamper with my sparkling, they shall feel my infinite wrath."


	29. Chapter 29

According to Jong, I was healing much faster because of the energon in my body. It seemed to register the fact that I was 'damaged', as it were and helped to speed up my recovery, keeping my body functioning at full capacity. Within a day or so of waking up I was moving around with much more ease so I was permitted to leave my room though I had to always have an armed escort or be in the presence of the Autobots. The latter was no issue at all, in fact the second I was given a clear bill of health I was down in their bunker just like old times.

"There she is, my 'lil cherry pie!" Jazz sang, summersaulting down from his perch to land in front of me. "You're looking mighty fine, you sure you were shot?"

"Yes Jazz I'm pretty sure." I rolled my eyes at him and playfully pushed back against him so that I could put my things down in the little corner they still kept for me. "Has Bumblebee come back yet?"

"No, we are still searching." Dino answered in his Italian accent. "Our friend is not answering our communications and has deactivated his transmitter so that we cannot track him."

"Don't worry babe he'll turn up eventually. The guy probably just wants to blow off some steam before coming back." Wheelie said to me as he and Brains walked next to me like little guardians. "He was pretty shook up after seeing you like that, wouldn't surprise me if it loosened a few screws in his head." I nudged Wheelie as a means to tell him not to say things like that. More worried than ever I paced back and forth slowly, trying to think of where Bumblebee might go. They had already checked back at Sam's house and all his usual haunts but there was no sign of him. Jazz even went back to the hilltop where we'd watched the movie together but couldn't find him. It seems to me that Bumblebee was blaming himself for what had happened and was now cutting himself off to punish himself, but that wasn't going to help things. I needed to find him, to let him know that everything was alright.

Although he did not say it, I could tell Optimus was also concerned about Bumblebee's wellbeing and because Optimus was worried, so were the others. Every day they went out in pairs to search for him, checking the city and even going further to continue the search but still nothing. After several days, I decided to take action. I'd built up a list of all the places Bumblebee might have run to and most of them had already been checked off, however I was certain that I knew where he'd gone. "Jazz, I need to go back home. Will you go with me?"

"Home? What you need some more of your stuff?" He asked me, looking up from where he was cleaning his weapons but I shook my head.

"No, I mean home-home, all the way back to California. I think Bumblebee's gone there." I told him and several heads lifted, turning to listen as Jazz put away his weapons and jumped down from his bunk to crouch down in front of me.

"Bee ain't got no reason to go there, you sure about this cherry?" Positive, I nodded my head.

"Call it a gut feeling." That was all the convincing Jazz needed and agreed to come with me. Lennox and Mearing even arranged transport for us so that we could fly together across the country in a few hours before touching down at the airport, the carrier opening up and Jazz drove off with me. When we got into town I sat back and just stared. Everything was so familiar yet alien at the same time. I hadn't been back here in a while and I was fairly certain everything was the same, but then again things were different too.

It was getting dark by the time we pulled outside of Judy and Ron's house which was completely dark save for the outside lights. Looks like they're still away on their tour bus vacation. That gut feeling was getting even more intense. "I'm going to take a look around okay? Just wait here for me."

"You got it." Jazz agreed and switched off as I walked away, leisurely taking in the familiar driveway and the rosebushes that had been there for as long as I could remember before I went towards the garage. Even after all this time I still had my own set of keys hanging off its chain. I had a set to the front door, the back door and this one, the garage. Sliding the key into the lock I twisted then pulled, opening it up and when I flicked on the light, a large yellow mass shifted away from it with a sad moan.

"Hey big guy." I murmured softly as I stepped inside and gradually approached, taking it very slowly as not to antagonise him. Bumblebee's eyes looked so depressed and morose it literally hurt to see him like this. His wings were drooping and he was hunched over into such a small shape that it must be hurting him. "It's okay, it's just me. I'm here now." Those sad eyes gazed at me in desperate apology though when I tried to touch him he pulled back, not letting me too close. "Listen Bee, it wasn't your fault. It wasn't anyone's fault but his, you hear me? I am not going to stand here and let you punish yourself like this. Come on, please. Just look at me. Look at me Bee." Keeping my voice to a pleading whisper Bumblebee slowly brought his head around and this time, he did not pull back as I placed my hands either side of his face and began to smooth my fingers over the angles of his features.

" _Words cannot express…how deeply…sorry I feel…for what happened."_ Bumblebee said as his voice flickered through the radio, eyes remaining deeply troubled and guilty. " _I don't know what happened…seeing you lying there…bleeding…something just broke inside…and no matter what…there was nothing…I could do…to fix it._ "

"Don't worry about that now. I'm alive aren't I? Don't be so hard on yourself Bumblebee, I've been so worried about you." His eyes became a little less distant, the light brightening ever so slightly as he tried his best to return to his old self but I was satisfied with just a sweet flurry of whirs and sounds, at least for now. Stepping back I looked around, smiling at the garage and reached out to pick up an old bike helmet Sam used to wear when we were younger. "I thought you would come back here. This is where we were all happy together, am I right?" I asked him, turning to look into his eyes. "You, me, Sam and Jazz. All of us for two years. This was…where we became more like family." It made sense now, of course it did. Even just standing in this garage I have memories of Jazz and Bumblebee out in the driveway as we washed the road dirt from them, throwing foamy sponges at one another or sitting on their hoods late at night stargazing.

" _When times are tough…you go back…to what you know…after all…there's no place like home._ " A soft chuckle escaped me at the last part. Bumblebee was such a nerd, it was adorable.

"Agreed." With a long sigh I put back Sam's helmet then walked back over to be and placed my hands in his, lifting it up towards me and gripped onto it securely in a partial embrace, gazing up at him with a smile. "You ready to come home Bee? They're all waiting for you." This time Bumblebee was the one to give a long sigh, shoulders slumping once more so I reached up and tucked my hand under his chin to lift his gaze to me once more. "I'm not leaving you behind Bee, there's no way. I'm always going to be here, no matter how many assholes come after me with guns, whether they're human or Decepticons, I'll fight them off and you'll never have to be alone. Okay? But you have to promise to do the same. You have to promise me that you won't leave me behind either."

 _"You have my word…there won't ever…be a day…where I could…leave you…behind."_ Bumblebee said to me before closing his eyes and leaning forwards until our foreheads were touching. " _If that day…ever does come…it'll break my heart…and I'll…surely perish. There ain't nothing…in this world…that I care about more…than you."_ My heart gave a little thrum, energy pulsing through me as I felt the muscles in my stomach contract tightly until I heard a familiar tune begin to float down to my ears and the words coiled themselves inside my head. " _Lean on me, when you're not strong…And I'll be your friend…I'll help you carry on…"_ Bumblebee serenaded me with the song, making me laugh and smile softly as he jokingly conducted along and swayed.

"Jesus Bee, I love you so much." By this point I was close to tears and Bee fussed over me, crouching down and looking up into my face as I rubbed my eyes dry. "It's okay, I'm not sad or anything I promise. I just can't stand to see you like this. Tell me how I can make it right, I'll do anything you want Bumblebee, just name it."

" _Young lady…you being here…is everything I could ever want."_ Bee answered me and gently touched a finger to my cheek and a stray tear ran down the metal rivets of his finger.

"Like I said. I love you Bee, so that means that nothing you could ever do could make me lose faith in you. There was nothing you could have done, no way you could have known, so just let it go. Come back home with me and we'll set everything straight. Okay?"

" _Alright then…if that's what you want._ "

"It is." Drawing him forwards by one hand Bumblebee transformed so that he could easily glide out of the garage and when he appeared, Jazz welcomed him back cheerfully the two of them revving their engines until I quipped at them to stop and consider the neighbours. After locking up the garage I quickly whispered to Jazz that I was going to ride back with Bumblebee to keep him company and make sure he was alright.

"Good idea cherry. You take care of my boy there, he felt it real bad when you got hurt. He could barely let go of you when he carried you in bleeding everywhere. Should have heard him yelling." My stomach plummeted at the news and I glanced over my shoulder sadly at Bumblebee. "Listen, I know we haven't been spending much time together recently, but I hope you know I got your back, so long as I'm still your number one 'bot." Jazz said to me and I gave a quiet chuckle as I leaned in and kissed the wheel, a kind of habit I'd picked up.

"Always Jazz. You got a very special place in my heart that can't be taken by anyone so don't be getting jealous or feeling neglected, I still love you the same as always."

"Good, glad to hear it cherry. Just making sure you remembered." Jazz told me cheekily and flicked one of his indicators as if to wink before driving away, forcing me to step back from him. Shaking my head to myself I went back to Bumblebee and secured my seatbelt, letting him follow after Jazz. We were silent for a long while until Bumblebee turned on the radio and we listened to some old classics together, singing along as we committed ourselves to the long drive back. I figured it would give Bee a little more time to come to terms with things and as I slept, I could still feel the rumble of the engines running through me and the warmth of his heaters chasing away the chill.


	30. Chapter 30

After I had fully recovered I spent the next year working with Mearing and the Autobots. Even though I was little more than a glorified secretary to the Director, I was in fact also regarded as the human-Autobot liaison. If ever there was a problem between the two species or a miscommunication or some mediating had to be done, I was the one they started coming to and with the salary they paid me, I was happy to kiss people's boots if that's what they wanted. Of course, working so closely with the Autobots meant that I saw them almost every week and they would be waiting to greet me whenever I told them I was coming. As Director of Intelligence, Mearing was often away doing other things with her other assistants who each had their own specification, so then I would get to stay with the Autobots.

"Yo cherry, we got work to do so come on and get that pretty 'lil ass of yours out here." Jazz called to me as I walked out from my little area still a little sleepy and rubbing my eyes.

"Hm? Oh right, duty calls." I mumbled, yawning before going back inside to brush my hair and get dressed in a simple work suit though for colour, I wore a bright patterned scarf of red, yellow and orange, the flowers blooming against my neck as I stuck on a pair of heels then deemed myself ready.

"I don't ever think I seen a day when you didn't wear those weird shoe things cherry. What's with that?"

"You mean heels? I like buying them when they're interesting or unique. Look, these ones have little bows at the back and they sparkle, aren't they cute?" Jazz just looked at me blankly so I laughed and told him not to worry and that it was a human female thing. All the Autobots were assembling, rising from their bunks and jumping down or driving forwards ready to start the day and I could also hear the soldiers starting to move about, a comfortable buzz in the air. Only thing was, that buzz was starting to grow louder and there was something not quite right. "Listen, do you hear that?" I questioned, lifting up a hand and the Autobots all turned their heads and adjusted their hearing processors to listen more intently.

"Primus, we got a mob outside." Jazz growled and instantly picked me up off the floor and set me on his shoulder. "Hang back cherry, this ain't gonna be good." Suddenly the hive was alive with movement and sound. As the mob outside our doors yelled and brayed I watched in alarm as the soldiers all rushed to hold them back, Lennox shouting orders and everyone rushing to follow them. "Get ready to bail if things go sour."

"Bail? They can't get inside right? We'll be fine so long as we stay here. What are they even protesting about?"

"Us." Optimus pronounced as he arrived, returning from one of his scouting missions and my jaw dropped to see him covered in a glistening liquid as well as a black tar like ooze. "They are here demanding that we be removed from this world. It seems that our presence in the city of Chicago has done more harm than good." His rumbling voice sounded weary so I made Jazz put me down before I rushed over to him, placing my hand carefully as not to touch whatever it was the mob had thrown at him. There must be hundreds of them out there, were they really that pissed? Don't they know that we'd all be slaves right now if the Autobots hadn't saved us all? What dicks.

"These people don't appreciate all that we done for them. If it weren't for us they'd be rebuilding Cybertron with Megatron ruling supreme, ass hats." Wheelie must have been thinking along the same sentiments as me however when Brains suggested going out there and showing them what for, with some of the guys agreeing I hurriedly tried to calm things down, reasoning with them that these people were just upset at having their city destroyed and a lot of people died, so grief was an emotion that could push anyone over the edge.

I made Optimus transform back into a truck and I set to work cleaning him up, Jazz, Wheelie and Bumblebee also offering to help so all of us set to work on getting rid of the muck. Once he was cleaned Optimus thanked us all before moving away to be by himself and wallow slightly, probably reconsidering all his decisions up to this point. "Looks like the boss is not happy about this."

"Who wouldn't be? You guys have done nothing but sacrifice everything for humanity and lost good friends along the way, now we're turning around and blaming everything on you all being here? I know I'm still human but I have to say, my people suck." Folding my arms I started to pace, trying to think things through and plan things out. "Things will calm down again, I'm sure they will. We just have to ride it out." Jazz told me to chill out and calm down a little, that Lennox would take care of everything and there was no need to worry. I would have liked to have believed him, but something told me that this wasn't the end of our troubles. I was right.

The mobs and riots continued for weeks, protestors appearing all over the world and even in front of the White House as the people called for the expulsion of the Autobots. There was just so much hate and rage all across the globe that it shocked me. Things became so dangerous that I had to sell my apartment, pack up everything and move away to a place where they were unlikely to recognise my face. I moved so far off the map that I ended up somewhere in Texas in a town that barely had TV and its residence were mostly retired veterans. It suited me fine so I bought a house in cash and used a fake ID to buy it, using an alias so that I couldn't be tracked. I thought that had all been a little much but both Jazz and Optimus insisted that it was for my safety.

With very little CCTV in town, I didn't have to worry about being recognised and located if a particular hacker deemed it worth a go. I hated it out here. There were no real shops, no bright and lively cities or even much by means of entertainment so the moment I had transported all my stuff there I insisted on Jazz taking me back to the Autobots. If ever I actually have to run away and hide here, I'll go absolutely crazy. Bumblebee called to me when I returned, telling me that things were real bad and making whirring noises like whimpers. "I know Bee but we'll be okay. We'll look out for one another." Nodding his head in agreement I looked around the base which was now practically deserted.

The soldiers had been assigned tasks in order to help contain the riots and the rest were guarding the new base we'd all been transferred to as to lose our hate squads. It's been over a year since Chicago, when were they going to stop? "Come on cherry, don't look so down. How about we spar a little? See how you're getting along." Instantly I perked up, liking the idea very much. Ever since I'd managed to properly merge with my car, I had been taking classes in how to kick ass. Jazz was my main instructor though Bumblebee helped out as well and the others were happy to spar with me if I needed a change of opponent to stay on my toes.

Honestly? I sucked terribly at first. I was all fingers and thumbs and often lost my balance as Jazz just danced around me and I landed on my butt more than once, but eventually I figured out my problem was the fact that I still thought I had a human body which could not do all the things my Autobot body could. After I changed my mentality, things became a lot easier and I think I was getting pretty decent. Sometimes I could hold my own with Jazz, but most of the time he pushed me and did not hold back. It was his way of making sure I toughened up, I guess, because there isn't any time for pandering when you're in the middle of a battle.

I'd even discovered that I could switch between two forms when in alt mode. It was awesome, one second I'm a car but when I accidentally activated my scanner and scanned a jet, I transformed into that too. Now I could fight from the ground and the skies. Most of the time Optimus would observe my training, occasionally giving advice or encouragement when necessary, more so when I was dealing with weapons like swords. After a year, I was confident that I could hold my own in a real fight and wasn't too shabby with my aim either and, just to stay on top of things, I started training in my human body as well.

Specifically, I got into running. With all the racing around I had done in the past, I rationalised that being in shape wasn't a bad thing. So Jazz and I were sparring away quite contently, me managing to catch him out several times when suddenly Bumblebee leaped into the fray and started to attack me too. "Oh my god! Jesus, Mary and Joseph what is going on?!" I yelled in terror as I suddenly had to duck down and spiral away from them both to open up some room before holding up my fists and kicking out at them with a foot. "Bumblebee this isn't a fair fight!"

" _Life is tough…it ain't always fair._ " He returned easily and I swear he was grinning at me. Freaked out by having two fists coming at me I fought back with everything I knew, jumping forwards and rolling along the ground between the two before lashing out and catching Bumblebee with a hard punch to the gut, knocking him backwards.

"That's for ganging up on a lady!" Jazz was roaring with laughter at that point and before I knew it, Sideswipe and Dino had joined in, changing out with either Jazz or Bumblebee and came at me from all sides, forcing me to think quickly and I relied on my analysis protocols to warn me of any incoming danger and allowed my body to pretty much just take over. No need to say I had my ass handed to me, however after I'd been flipped onto my back by Dino for the last time, he gave me a smile and congratulated me on my fight, helping me back up. We were all laughing together and commenting on one another's prowess or giving advice on how to avoid or block things when Lennox walked in with a group of people behind him, including Director Mearing and by the looks on their faces, everyone fell silent with trepidation.

"Good afternoon, thank you for being cooperative in your transfer. We appreciate the understanding you have all shown us." Mearing began so I transformed down and emerged as my human self, sliding out my car and walking forwards slightly so that I stood in front of all the Autobots.

"What's going on? What's happened?" Mearing started to speak but stopped and closed her mouth, glancing across to Lennox before leaning over and whispering to him so he took a step forwards, addressing all of us.

"It has been decided that the NEST program is going to be shut down. Our superiors say they can't afford further conflict being brought to our doors, which means…it's over." Lennox said to us and I felt his words suddenly slam against me. I faltered, taking a step back as I wavered but recovered myself as I stared at Lennox and Mearing. "I'm sorry guys, there was nothing either of us could do. All cooperation is to cease…with immediate effect." Just from the tone of his voice I could tell that this was as hard for Lennox as it was for us.

"Although those assholes upstairs might not have a clue what you have all done for our world, there are those who recognise all your sacrifices." Mearing stated firmly as she looked directly at Optimus who was silent all the while they spoke. "We will always be grateful." Everything else after that passed like a blur. The Autobots helped the soldiers to pack up everything that was too heavy for them to lift and began to clear out their things. I sat on the walkway for a long while, legs dangling over the edge as my head reeled. If the Autobots no longer had the government's protection, what would happen to them now? By all means they could leave, but…then that would leave me all alone.

Sam and Carly were out of the picture and I couldn't go back to them and risk putting them in danger again, at least not for now. Everything so surreal, like it wasn't really happening but as I watched, things began to become more and more barren until eventually there was nothing left except us. "Little spark." Lifting my gaze I looked into Optimus's eyes. "There will be a time when we are called upon once more as allies to fight for the human race. Do not fear, you will not be left behind." Opening up his hand I gave a weak smile and allowed myself to drop down onto his palm, bending my knees into a crouch so that I was more balanced as he turned and walked away with me. "Autobots, the time has come that we depart."

"Road trip! Road trip!" Jazz chanted, making me laugh as everyone else started to offer up suggestions in places to go, actually completely on board for this road trip idea however when a sudden warning flare in my chest cut through my laughter, there was only a split second before the base was alight with fire and an explosion which knocked Optimus off his feet and I fell through the air with a scream. My arms flailed but quickly enough Optimus recovered and grabbed onto me again, halting my fall and ordered his Autobots to move out.

More heavy fire came down upon us and we were all in a panic, desperately trying to find the source but we were surrounded on all sides and as Optimus gently lowered me to my car, another explosion shook the base and blasted open the wall. "Brains! Wheelie!" I yelled, hearing them screaming somewhere. My arms were lifted against the dust and I coughed as smoke tickled my lungs, fires bursting into life all around us and the Autobots were trying to fight back. Anger pounded through me I jumped into my car and merged with it, rising up to stand on both feet and instantly the two shields appeared upon my forearms as I raced forwards, locking down on Wheelie and Brains who were trapped under debris but unharmed. "Babe! You gotta save us!" With one part of my shield providing cover I grabbed a fistful of the debris and ripped it off them, tossing it away and opened up my hand.

"It's okay, I've got you now. Just hang on." I instructed them as they both clambered up my arm and Wheelie hugged me securely and rubbed his face against my tough armour.

"You're a lifesaver babe, a real pal." Lifting my head I switched to heat signature mode and picked out the life forms outside, completely closing us in.

"We have to run, we can't fight our way out of here without getting blown to pieces." I called out to everyone else as I stepped forwards, removing my shield and exchanging them for my cannons. "I'll fly out and distract them, when you see a red flare, head out east and escape."

"No way cherry, you're not going at this alone!" Jazz proclaimed hotly however Optimus paused before flinging out a hand.

"Do as she says. Autobots, we must scatter into the wind and go into hiding. Do not trust any human, no matter who they are. We have been betrayed." Anger laced his venomous tone and I stiffened slightly, a moment of fleeting panic coursing through me until he softened his gaze and looked towards me. "We shall meet again, my spark. Until that time…" An unspoken farewell passed between us before I pointed my cannons upwards and opened up the roof with several blasts and flew through it, transforming with Wheelie and Brains inside my cockpit as I flew into the sky.

"Alright babe let's kick some traitor human butt!"

"Yeah let's kick it, let's kick it!" Brains agreed and I had to yell at them to stay put and don't touch anything. I banked around and open fired upon our attackers, forcing them to split as I then launched a missile at the gates, blasting them open and drawing attention towards me. Streaking through the air with a high pitched whistle I spiralled to avoid getting hit, effortless soaring through the skies as speed as I blasted at one of their vehicles and blew it sky high, causing more mayhem among them. There was no one that I recognised and no distinguishing marks. The most I could tell that they were military but there wasn't even a uniform. Damn bastards, shooting at my friends. I released a red flare into the sky, letting it soar over the building to give the signal before heading west so that the main body of fire was on me.

With Brains and Wheelie I banked back around, watching as Dino and Sideswipe escaped first with Ratchet following, leaving Bumblebee, Jazz and Optimus behind. Come on guys, you have to go. Finally a streak of white and a bolt of yellow tore out of the base and made a break for freedom, our attackers only now just realising the diversion. With a few more rounds I gave Optimus, Jazz and Bee the cover they needed, blasting at the ground and doing my best not to cause casualties because I knew Optimus wouldn't approve of me killing fellow humans, but I was sorely tempted.

Everyone now free and escaped, I flew off into the skies and used the clouds as cover so that they would not follow my direction, soaring before gradually lowering to the ground and falling in line with the Autobots. As my jet form skimmed the road I transformed back into a car, my wheels dropping down and I quickly accelerated to keep up. With a rev of his engine Jazz fell back to stay beside me and we all communicated through our radios. "What in Primus' name was that!?"

"These humans tried to kill us!"

"We should go back there and show them not to mess with the Autobots, let's give them a real ass whooping they won't ever forget!" As everyone argued I stayed silent, feeling rotten to the core. I guess I'm a fugitive once more. With everyone shouting and yelling at one another, I was starting to lose my wits however Optimus's booming voice instantly shut us up.

"Enough!" Hours had already passed and we'd driven a long way so Optimus swung off road and transformed, turning to face us as we all did the same. "Humans have forsaken us and now they hunt us like they would an animal. We have no choice but to go into hiding and to stay as far away from these soldiers as possible. Cover your tracks and conceal yourselves, go to the most remote places you can find, but you must go alone. Groups will be more easily targeted and even pairs will be too much. Autobots, my brothers, this is where we part ways." His words made me feel sick inside and I desperately wished to wake up from this nightmare. "It has been my greatest honour to fight alongside you all and we must pray, in time, we shall be reunited."

"You mean that's it? The show's over?" Wheelie blinked before his shoulders slumped. "After all we've been through, this is a crappy way to end it." I agreed with him. Everyone shifted uncomfortably, unsure of what to do before finally Jazz stepped forwards.

"Well? You heard the boss, we go our separate ways. No radio contact, we'll leave that to Prime to locate us again. Mask your signals and avoid cities and energon detectors. It's time for us to disappear." His gaze then turned towards me and he walked forwards, reaching out and placing a hand against my face as I just stood frozen in place. "Looks like we'll have to put off that road trip for another time, right cherry?" My throat clenched up and felt like it was rusting but I forced myself to smile and nod my head.

"Sure thing. I'll see you again real soon." I hated saying goodbyes, however I rationalised that this was better than how it was when I thought they were leaving the planet altogether. This was just temporary, a failsafe to make sure none of us got hurt. Jazz hugged me then, promising to come running if I was ever in danger before he turned and signalled to the others to move out. He broke off with Sideswipe and Dino, the three of them heading north before they would then break off and go it alone.

"Until next time." Ratchet nodded to us all before he too drove off. Now left with just Optimus and Bumblebee, I turned and looked at them both.

"When is next time?"

"I don't know little spark, but it will not be forever. Until I can learn of who it is who hunts us and how to stop them, it is best that we all disappear." As he knelt down to my level of height, he scanned me quietly for a moment before slowly starting to speak, a little awkward yet determined to say what was on his mind, even though I could already feel it through our connection. "I…you are, that is…I think of you as my own, and I care for you deeply." His hand brushed against my face gently, still much larger than mine. "I shall carry you in my spark always." Without meaning to, I gave a little laugh.

"I love you too Optimus." He smiled at that, leaning forwards so that our helms touched before he transformed and drove off into the distance, leaving a trail of dust behind him.

"So we getting out of here or what?" Wheelie demanded to know but I hushed him, asking for one more minute as I then faced Bumblebee.

"Guess we have to say goodbye again." I said to him weakly however Bumblebee just stepped closer and placed his arms around me, drawing me into his shoulder as if to take on my burdens and lighten the feeling of heaviness that was now crushing my chest. "I'm going to miss you Bee, but hopefully this won't be long. I'll see you again real soon." His radio whirred and a soft voice sang to me.

" _You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy, when skies are grey…You'll never know, dear, how much I love you, please don't take my sunshine away…zzt…If I should stay, I would only be in your way…So I'll go but I know…I'll think you of every step of the way…And I…will always, love you…I will always…love you…you my darling you…"_ Bumblebee sang to me and without realising it he had taken my hand, placed his on my waist and started to sway with me, dancing with tiny steps of our feet as I just listened to what he was saying. " _Bittersweet memories, that is all I'm taking with me. So goodbye, please don't cry…zzt…And I…will always…love you…"_ As the chorus struck again Bumblebee twirled me under his arm and I couldn't help but smile as he danced with me. " _I hope, life treats you kind and I hope, you have all you dreamed of…And I wish you joy and I wish you happiness, but above all this, I wish you love…"_ With the final climax Bumblebee actually spun me around and lifted me up into the air, twirling with me before then placing me gently back on the ground once more, the song coming to a soft finish.

"Bumblebee…" Shaking his head Bumblebee reached forwards and took my head between his hands and leaned our foreheads together, whirring softly at me as his thumbs brushed against the arch of my cheeks.

" _This is not goodbye…just…farewell._ " He told me softly and with one final embrace he let me go and walked away. I watched him go, unable to say anything for I was still spellbound by our dance. It was the sweetest thing and now that I think about it, it had been the first time I'd ever danced with anyone. Bumblebee folded down and drove away, leaving me standing alone in the desert with a heaviness I could not dispel.

"Sorry to ruin the loved up mood babe but we gotta go or our asses will be shot at by those goons." Wheelie said to me, tugging at my foot and shoving at me to try and get me moving. "I don't particularly want to be turned into some kind of funky experiment."

"Yeah, ain't nobody gonna go digging around in my head so let's bail." Brains agreed, the two of them climbing up my leg so I blinked myself awake and held out my hand to them, letting them jump on as I started to walk.

"Don't worry guys. I'll protect you." I promised them before transforming and flying off into the sky and from that point on, I was completely off the grid. As far as I was concerned, Helen Clarkson never made it out of that desert and that's how it's going to stay for as long as it takes until I can be with my family again.


	31. Chapter 31

If Wheelie and Brains found it boring in my old apartment, this new place was driving them crazy. After parting ways with the Autobots I had closed all my accounts and now kept a steady stream of cash hidden away in several places which were secure and I could access in times of emergency. I had several places dotted around the States, meaning that we could go from place to place to ensure that we weren't caught up with. I thought we were doing fine, that there was no way we were being tracked, however I was proved very wrong.

When I sensed a distress signal from one of the other Autobots, Wheelie and Brains came rushing into my room as I sat up, feeling it reverberate through me as an urgent message. It wasn't Optimus, in fact I couldn't quite tell who it was, but they were in trouble. "Yo babe, what do we do? Do we go see who it is?"

"No way, Prime said to fend for ourselves. If we go out there and track down this call, we gonna be barbequed. I reckon it's a trap." Brains answered, munching through a bunch of wires and metal bits like it were beef jerky or something.

"What about never leaving a 'bot behind?" Wheelie argued and as the two of them bickered I got out of bed and went to the window, running my hand through my long ginger hair. In the reflection of the glass, pale grey eyes looked back at me and they slowly shifted into green, changing with the smallest flecks of light as the sun rose up over the town. "Well I say we go check things out. Could be anyone, or even somebody knew who didn't get the memo that if you crash land on Earth you ain't getting a welcome party, just a death squad."

"I'll go. You two can stay here where it's safe." I said to them both, folding my arms and facing them. "Brains, can you triangulate the signal and give me some coordinates?"

"Can do, no problem." He agreed before transforming into a laptop which started to scan for the distress call and narrowed down the area bit by bit.

"No way are you leaving us behind babe. You're gonna need backup and an extra pair of eyes never hurt. We can sneak in without being seen and check out what's going on." Wheelie reasoned and with a little more debating I finally agreed that they could both come with me. Brains didn't want to go but he didn't want to be left behind on his own either so opted to tag along. For blending in I had rescanned my car mode to take on a much plainer and more common model car, a dusty GTO with a faded red coat of paint.

I drove out of town and the moment I was far enough away I transformed, standing upright and running forwards before leaping into the air and transforming into my jet mode. Splitting through the sky at top speed I flew towards the distress signal, wary and prepared for anything however as I zeroed in on the coordinates I started to scan for life forms and information, touching down a few miles out to make sure. Turning back into a car my human body woke up again, frowning slightly. "I can't pick up anything on my scanners, what about you guys?"

"Well, there is something out there. It's definitely an Autobot I can tell you that much." Wheelie said as he climbed over me then dropped out of the car. "I'll go check it out, Brains you watch my back. We gotta go in low and stay out of sight." The two of them moved towards the source of the signal whilst I remained behind, listening as their hushed argument slowly dwindled away and I was left waiting for them. For a few minutes they didn't come back and I grew increasingly worried about them but remained put, shielded and hidden from view by these boulders and shrubbery. When I started to hear them screaming, that was when I moved.

Without even thinking I charged forwards, transforming mid-leap and with a quick secondary scan, found numerous life forms popping up everywhere. They were wearing some kind of tech which concealed their heat signatures, helping them to blend in however as I jumped over the edge of the canyon, I used my arm blades to control my descent by digging it into the rock face, sliding downwards and firing upon those same people who'd attacked us before. "Let us go you puny dicked meat heads! You're gonna be sorry about this!" Wheelie was yelling as he was stuffed in a cage, Brains already being carted away and loaded up. "Babe! Babe!"

"You brought _her_ here? How foolish are you little creatures?!" Sideswipe? So it was him who was calling out in distress. They had him locked down at the base of the canyon, partially frozen and secured down with thick wires to hold him in place and he was hooked up to an aerial, the wires running straight into his body. That must be what was sending the signal. My first shot aimed for the machine first, blasting it apart and without hesitation, I turned on the humans. I didn't care that they were my own kind, I was livid and blinded by my rage for how beat up and broken Sideswipe looked.

From within I released a horrifying roar which echoed throughout the canyon as I slashed and blasted my way through, forcing the humans to retreat and any return fire rebounded off my heavy shields, allowing me to free Sideswipe however he was so heavily wounded that he couldn't move. "Help me! Help me somebody! They're kidnapping me!"

"Brains!" Wheelie kicked open his cage and raced forwards, trying to get to brains and when I heard the engine roar I spun around, alarm coursing through me.

"No wait! You can't take him!" They tried to grab Wheelie again however I backhanded the people who tried, sending them flying into the cliff face with a nasty crack whilst the others sounded the retreat. I made to follow after them, trying to rescue Brains however a huge net suddenly launched itself at me and tangled me up, something also snapping around my feet and taking me off balance. I swore loudly, struggling to break free as the soldiers came at me with a freezing gas, trying to stop me from moving but I was already slashing through the net with my arm blades, freeing myself and fired upon anyone who came to close.

"Helen, we must retreat!" Sideswipe yelled to me, desperately trying to pull himself towards me as I continued to fight them off, holding a line on my own though when a torpedo missile blasted against my shield it forced me to my knee and the next one ripped through my leg making me cry out as my pain receptors flared. "Helen, now! Run now! You shouldn't have come here in the first place, you must escape!"

"No. They've taken Brains and I am not leaving you here to be used for parts." I retorted firmly, drawing the two halves of my shield together for better protection. "Wheelie, stay close to me."

"Babe, they took Brains!"

"I know, we're going to get him back, but right now if we stay here we're going to die. Climb on and leave everything to me." To be honest I have no idea where the calmness came from. Inside I was freaking out and extremely terrified as they started to blast the canyon walls and rocks came tumbling down above us so with Wheelie gripping onto my shoulder I grasped Sideswipe under his arms I stood up and allowed my jet wings to appear. With a burst of speed we shot into the sky, outstripping every bullet fired after us however I sensed drones following, tracking us down so I yelled. "Wheelie! Check to see if there's a tracker somewhere on Sides, get rid of it!"

"Are you kidding me? You're in the middle of flying!" He yelled just as a missile came shooting towards us so I banked, trying to avoid it but it followed after us.

"Just do it or we'll all die!" Cursing loudly Wheelie carefully climbed down onto Sideswipe and started to search for some kind of implant or something as his parts sparked from the broken mess they'd left him in. I dove down towards the canyon and mountains, hoping to shake off the missiles with a little expert flying. I'd seen it in movies all the time, how hard can it be? Wheelie screamed and wailed as he was jolted with every movement I made, barely hanging on as Sideswipe groaned weakly. Holding my breath I dove down into the canyon's crevasse, having to rely purely on my instincts as I flew the torpedoes through the giant rock formation.

"Okay, I got something!" Wheelie yanked something out of Sideswipe's back before climbing back up to me. "Yep, that's a tracker alright. They'll be following us all across the world with this thing." He said so I barked at him to throw it away when I gave the signal. Steeling my nerves I flew directly at a cliff, making Wheelie yell in alarm and cling onto my neck tightly, praying and panicking aloud. I flew straight forwards, not making any alteration in my course before pulling up at the last second with an agile twist, giving me the agility I needed whilst the torpedoes were not so lucky.

"Now!" Wheelie flung the tracker away from us and just as it fell downwards, the torpedoes rammed against the rocks and exploded, taking the tracker with it. I had to climb at a steep ascent to avoid the rush of flames below us but within seconds we were clear of the danger zone, my arms still securely gripping onto Sideswipe as I flew us all away.

"You did it babe! You're a freaking genius!" Wheelie celebrated, hugging my neck tightly however I felt no reason to be happy. Sure, we'd escaped and we'd recovered Sideswipe, but we'd lost Brains and that was unacceptable. I dreaded to think what they would do to him, I cannot even imagine. "Babe?"

"From now on, this is personal." I declared as I flew us all to safety, leaving the canyons and the mountains far behind us. "From now on, I'm not going to sit back and wait. Even if I have to do it alone, I'm going to find out who did this and make them pay, human or not." With that setting the tone for the rest of the flight, we were all silent until we landed. I spend weeks fixing Sideswipe up as best I could but without Ratchet, it was an incomplete job. Sideswipe survived, however several of his systems were damaged including his automated firing protocol, meaning that he couldn't shoot anymore so I gave him one of my own handheld weapons so that he could protect himself.

Together we disappeared into one of the national forests, moving as far away from humans as we possibly could where Sideswipe would be safe until I could get Ratchet to him. Whilst I went out and searched for the rest of the Autobots, Wheelie remained with him and I made sure that their emitters were deactivated so that they could not be traced as well as building an interference pod under Sideswipe's and Wheelie's guidance, teaching me all about Cybertronian technology and when the pod was done and a perimeter was set, not even an energon detector would be able to trace us.

As hard as I searched, I did not find Brains or find out what happened to him. It was all I could do to keep track of the humans' movements. They called themselves Cemetery Wind and they were lead by a CIA agent Harold Attinger. He and I became somewhat like archenemies. As a human I would walk among humans unnoticed, effortlessly blending in and used that to infiltrate and learn of their movements. One time when I managed to get access to their main computers I wiped as much of their information as I could, removing intelligence on some of the Autobots such as the twins and Jolt, all of whom were in hiding across the globe.

After a year I rescued Dino and brought him back to Sideswipe as well as two of the wreckers, Roadbuster and Topspin, however Leadfoot had already been taken down. It was all I could do to try and hinder Cemetery Wind from finding us all and as the war between us continued, I felt myself losing more and more of my human self. I despised these people, they turned me bitter and resentful until eventually I felt like there was nothing of the old me left and without even realising it, I contemplated simply destroying them all. It was only when I eventually found Jazz, pulling him from the ambush before he could be captured, that I realised how much I had started to think like a Decepticon, of all things.

"It's a dangerous way of thinking cherry, you can't let yourself become like them. The only thing that separates us from those 'cons is that we don't kill senselessly. Keep your chin up, cherry, I'm here now." I was about to tell him I was glad to see him, that I'd missed him but my words were forced to halt on the tip of my tongue as a blast came at us from behind and struck Jazz, flipping him over into the air and he crashed back into the road, rolling repeatedly as I screamed his name. Screeching to a halt I swerved to avoid him and drifted until I came to a halt beside him.

"Jazz? Jazz! Come on Jazz, answer me!"

"Cherry, I think we got company." He groaned at me weakly and transformed, prompting me to do the same. Immediately Jazz dropped to one knee, grasping his side where there was a gaping hole and one of his legs was partially blown off, leaving him crippled and weak. Quickly I grabbed onto him, helping to keep him steady but when we heard the crunching of heavy feet against the road, I slowly turned my head towards the culprit.

A tall Cybertronian walked towards us, however he was not any Autobot I recognised and he didn't look like a Decepticon either. For a moment I was bewildered and even Jazz didn't know who it was, so I went to basics. This was an enemy who intended us harm. Neutralise the threat and escape. When one of Attinger's top agents, Savoy, strode into view as well, this only further proved my theory. "So here we are again. You know, you've been a real pain in my ass ever since you started showing up and ruining my operations." He said to me like I were some major inconvenience over something trivial like holding up the line. "But Lockdown here is going to make sure you don't bother us no more."

"I am going to shove a grenade down your throat and pull the pin I swear to god. One day, I am going to enjoy killing you." I promised him darkly as I gripped onto Jazz and activated my battle protocol. Instantly a shield appeared on my arm and the mask slid across my lower face to protect it as the helm shifted into a more warrior like shape. "And whoever that bag of dicks over there is, he's going to be ripped apart piece by piece."

"If you say so." Savoy smirked before nodding his head at Lockdown. "Finish them." Raising his weapon Lockdown aimed at us and I quickly lifted my shield up, ready. When the blast came it took everything I had to knock it aside, using the shield to protect both myself and Jazz who tried to fire back but he couldn't move and we were way too much out in the open. Things looked bad, very bad. Cemetery Wind were coming at us from all sides and any second now they were going to launch a full blown attack that would shatter our armour and tear us down.

"Fly away from here cherry, you gave it your best shot but I'm done for."

"Not happening." Shaking my head I grabbed his arm and pulled him onto my back. "We're getting out of here together Jazz, you and me so just hang tight and let me think." I had no choice, I had to go for the big guns. With both cannons shooting rapid fire I turned in a circle, pushing back our opponents then flew up into the air, exchanging one cannon for a sword which I pulled from my arm and the blade extended outwards, glowing with heat as I sliced through the helicopter that made to try and follow us and blasted at Lockdown who was forced to retreat back to avoid the falling chopper.

We started to fly away and I was determined to make it, that we were going to escape however grappling hooks launched after us and wrapped around my legs and dug into me, the sharp points ripping through and made me cry out in pain as I was held in place even as I increased power to my thrusters. "Listen to me cherry, you have to save yourself. It won't mean anything if we both die here, you have to go."

"No. Neither of us are dying here today. I won't let that happen." Struggling to speak under the strain of trying to fly even as we were being dragged back down, I tried to slash at the cables however where one broke, three more were fired until I had them straining my wrists too. "Damn it!"

"Cherry. It's okay." Jazz murmured softly, touching my face before reaching into his chest and drawing something free which he then placed in my hand. "I love you my little cherry pie, you were always my greatest friend. I'm glad that, out of the entire universe, we were able to find each other and I'll never regret a single moment I spent with you." He said to me and with a cold sense of dread, he gave me a final grin, his confident voice never once wavering. "Time to go down in style. Remember cherry pie, I'm still your favourite 'bot." Before I could stop him, Jazz let go of me and dive bombed the assault team below, guns blazing and using everything he had to fight them off. He slashed through the restraints and instantly I shot forwards, swiftly banking around.

"Jazz! No Jazz!" My voice soared to a horrendous screech as I tried to reach him in time, watching helplessly as Lockdown cursed him in Cybertronian before shooting straight through him. First it was his torso and then his spark, I watched and could do nothing to save him as he fell to the ground with a clatter but all noise ceased to exist as I hovered in the air, the breath trapped in my body and my wide optics enhancing upon him, reading his life signs until they went dark and Jazz, my Jazz, went offline.

"And now you shall join him in death." Lockdown turned on me, shooting and struck my arm, injuring it but I kept my fist clenched around the object Jazz had given me, making a split second decision to flee even though I wanted nothing more than to stay and at least retrieve his body. Fully transforming into the jet I flew away from there and transferred my consciousness back into my human body so that I could release the tears that wanted to fall, switching to autopilot so that I could sob and heave with terrible wrenching sensations in my gut and chest. After all we went through, why did it have to end this way?

Jazz was gone and there was no bringing him back. As I flew through the open skies I slowly uncurled my fist where I had clenched it so hard, the object that had moved there and as my thumb brushed over the surface and felt out its shape, everything seemed to crash down on me at once as I recognised what it was.

A small metal cog.


	32. Chapter 32

Five years. Five whole years since Chicago, three since I lost Jazz and two since I went off the grip altogether. Jazz's death spiralled me into a state of depression where I did not even think myself capable or worthy to protect everyone who came to me for help. For the longest time I just shut myself away, hiding in the furthest corner of the woods until slowly the other Autobots coaxed me back out. They turned to me for leadership, saying that I had Optimus Prime's spark inside me and if anyone was meant to take over in his stead, it should be me.

I disagreed deeply, however they all insisted. They probably did it to snap me out of my grieving state, to give me focus and direction and I was grateful to them for it because with the responsibility of their lives on my shoulders I was desperate to not fail them. With the goal of earning the name Prime, I protected, defended and concealed the small group of Autobots I had been able to rescue and several times we had to run in order to avoid human contact when they came looking for us with these spy drones that started to crop up wherever trace evidence of our existence was found.

Eventually I even started to get the hang of this whole take charge thing and with Roadbuster and Topspin's help, we were able to build an underground shelter using an old nuclear bunker where the others could rest and recover. Sideswipe was even able to get proper treatment thanks to the wreckers who used their superior engineering to fix him up in places I couldn't. I kept them hidden. I kept them safe. That was all I could do for those five years and in that time, I worried more and more about the others, Bumblebee, Ratchet and Optimus. Even after I found Skids and Mudflap as well as Jolt, I still could find none of them.

It was only after I received Optimus's message calling all Autobots to his side did I finally feel a glimpse of hope. After all this time of having this sensation of quiet distance in my chest, he was suddenly back online and warmth spilled through me. At my decision, I made the others remained in safety and out of sight, placing Sideswipe in charge in my stead so that I could investigate this new signal and ensure it was legitimate. I wanted the others to stay away from danger and they had explicit orders that, if I did not return or make contact within three weeks, they were to move out and find somewhere else to hide and, if possible, to leave planet Earth altogether.

I flew as a jet most of the way however when I touched down on the ground and transformed into my rickety old car mode, I decided that it was time to make an upgrade. As I drove I scanned several different cars as they passed before settling on a Ferrari F12 Berlinetta, as my processor informed me. The sleek build of the car suited my physique and the hot red coat became vibrant as I transformed, streaks of purple and blue appearing as I worked them into my design. With a flare of my engine I drove out into a remote part of Texas, moving through the afternoon and past dusk whereby I started to receive indications of life forms and signatures which I recognised. "No frigging way." I whispered to myself and amped up the speed.

There they were, I could see them all and standing tall above all the others, was Optimus. Everyone turned at the sound of my approach, most of them going for weapons however Optimus quickly ordered everyone to stand down and as I flashed my headlights I transformed, rising up and continued running before sliding to a rather elegant halt with my arms raised for balance with one fist planted on the floor. My slim figure slowly rose up, lean and graceful in comparison to the others. For a moment I just stood there, looking at each face in turn before finally Optimus moved, closing the distance between us and drawing me towards him. "Little spark, you are home." If I could cry I would have, however all I could do was embrace Optimus with all I had. "Thank Primus you are safe."

"I thought I lost you again."

"Forgive me, after being badly damaged in a battle against Lockdown I went into stasis. It was the human inventor Cade Yeager who revived me. We were forced to flee from another assault from Lockdown and his team of human hunters." Optimus told me as he extended his hand to a group of three who were rising up onto their feet and staring at me. The most mature looking of them pointed at me, seemingly completely dumbstruck.

"Wait, are you a _girl_? As in, a female robot?" My brow plates shifted into a frown as I looked at him, glancing at Optimus before kneeling down to look at them more closely. "Wow."

"So you're Cade. You helped Optimus from getting captured instead of turning him over. Why?" Cade blinked at me, frowning slightly in thought before turning to meet my bright eyes as they glowed in the dark.

"Because he didn't do anything wrong." Satisfied with his answer I finally gave a gentle and warm smile, nodding my head before looking at the two people behind him. "Oh, this is my daughter Tessa and he's…you don't need to know about him, he's nobody."

"Dad!" Tessa complained as Cade pulled her towards him, his arms now placed protectively around her as he stood between her and the other guy. "Stop it! This is Shane and he's a professional driver and, even though my daddy will deny it, he is also my boyfriend."

"Nice to meet you all. My name is Helen." They seemed surprised at my name in comparison to the others but I just chuckled and stood back up, turning and searching for Bumblebee and I didn't have to try very hard because in that moment, he tackled me with a hug, making excited whirring noises as he lifted me up at my waist and spun me around. "Bumblebee enough! You're going to spin my head loose! Bee!"

" _Sorry…I just couldn't help…but be glad to see you._ " Bumblebee apologised, setting me down and helping me to regain my balance before I smiled and hugged him tightly, our heads touching together and for a brief moment, I lingered a little longer as his looked at me with his pure blue gaze. My optics were a little different to everyone else's, something that I had not realised for a long time until one of the Autobots had commented on it. My optics when in standing mode actually changed colour. They varied in shades but they would shift and merge almost constantly though they lingered most on green and a deep yellowish bronze shade.

"I missed you."

" _I missed you too_." Bumblebee answered, hands still at my waist and curled around my back before somebody coughed and he quickly let go, shrinking back with embarrassment which only made me chuckle again. The other Autobots introduced themselves as we were yet to meet and once all introductions were out of the way, everyone settled once more around the campfire.

"Sensei, with your fate unknown, Bumblebee has held command, despite his complete and total lack of anything resembling warrior discipline. He's like a child." The Samurai like Autobot said aloud with obvious disdain, making Bumblebee growl and turn around to face him haughtily.

" _This child…is about to kick your ass._ "

"He brings us shame." As they both started to fight one another I exhaled with a shake of my head, sitting on one of the huge trees that they had previously uprooted as a seat. "Smartass." My fingers twitched slightly as I watched Bumblebee get pinned down by Drift, a huge blade being pressed underneath his neck but I refrained from making any movement, just in case I accidentally actually ended up ripping off Drift's head because my temper control was not what it used to be. If I had a short temper before, it was worse now.

"Yes, I've been waiting for them all to dispatch each other, so I could take charge with no trouble at all. Just me reporting to me." Crosshairs declared comically, trying to lighten the mood but not really being successful.

"Well, it sure looks like you've been missed." I had to agree with Cade. These guys were all at one another's throats. They must have been barely tolerating one another before Optimus came back and now everything was being let loose and there was enough tension here to be sliced with a knife. When Optimus stepped forwards, however, Drift released Bumblebee and Crosshairs put his gun away respectfully as our leader started to speak.

"Autobots, Lockdown is hunting us and humans are helping. We need to know why."

"Well, listen, I don't know why, but I have an idea about who." Cade informed us all and I lifted my head curiously. "I have some footage here that you should probably see, is there a way for me to…?" Before he had even finished Drift folded down into his car form and instructed Cade in how to hook up the video stream so that he could display it against the rock face of the mountains that adorned the desert like terrain. "This drone I stole recorded footage of an Autobot raid. It's in pieces, but watch what happens here." Flashes of images appeared and I walked forwards to view it properly, pressing my lips together as I saw Ratchet's face struggling in vain before Leadfoot then appeared.

"Oh, that's Leadfoot."

"They rip him apart." Shaking his head Hound pulled off his cap and held it over his chest in reverence.

"Savages." Savages? They were worse than that. They were murders. They killed them. They killed them both then rip apart their bodies like they were nothing more than walking spare parts. I felt so enraged, so wildly furious that I could do nothing but stand there trembling with tightly clenched fists, my part whirring as they constantly shifted.

"And later, this truck comes to haul him off. KSI, Kinetic Solutions. Defence, aerospace, government contracts and they designed this drone." Cade continued to explain to us as we watched a truck with the KSI logo printed on its side. "The company is headquartered in Chicago. That could be where they were taken." Unable to watch anymore I flicked my hand at Drift who shut off his headlights, cutting off the video feed and I felt relieved. I couldn't watch anymore, even in this form I felt so disgusted it was like I was going to throw up car fluids at any second.

"No way to get inside without a battle." Hound reasoned as he continued to smoke on his cigar. I didn't even know how that worked but I didn't think about it at that moment, focusing on Cade who next spoke.

"Well, what if you had some human help?"

"What, are you two partners now?" Tessa asked him with an arch of her eyebrow but Cade turned to her with a fatherly tone that I could not even remember ever hearing from my human father.

"Sweetie, we're targets now, too. We need to know why or we'll never get our lives back." There was a brief silence whereby everyone looked to Optimus for his final decision but through the bond between us, I knew he had already made it.

"Autobots, I have sworn to never kill humans." He started, interrupted only by Hound muttering that such a promise was a mistake. "But when I find out who's behind this, he's going to _die_."


	33. Chapter 33

Although Cade had instructed Tessa and Shane to go get supplies, I figured that kids would do as kids would do and get things that weren't really necessary like meme shirts and stuff like that. Hey, it's what I would have done if I were their age again. Oh my god, I feel so old. In earth years I'm twenty six, twenty _six_. When I first met the Autobots I was only sixteen and that was ten years ago now. To be honest I felt like I'd aged way beyond that, I felt ancient and worn down from loss and constant fear of being caught.

Still, that wasn't going to stop me. Away from everyone else I stepped out of my car, human again for the first time in a long while. I'd practically lived as an Autobot since we had all split ways and I was glad that, when my consciousness transferred, most bodily functions ceased such as bowel displacement and digestion. Though that didn't mean that when I woke up in human form again I didn't need to go. Walking through the streets of Chicago I felt on edge, looking up and recognising places where I had fought before and I even passed the place where I had seen Que being killed. Lifting my hand I grabbed onto my necklace, feeling each wheel in turn with Jazz's being last. It was the cleanest of them all as it was the newest, bright metallic silver with two lines running through one of the rims, scratched perfectly into the metal.

With the cash I had on me I bought fresh ready to eat food, blankets and a change of shoes for Tessa because, from experience, I know she will start to struggle with them sooner or later. I also got us a takeaway, though since I didn't know what everyone liked I got a pizza and a Chinese. With Tessa in mind I also got her some feminine products so she could wash and change. Being seventeen and on the run was not a great experience, so the least I can do is make her as comfortable and comforted as possible. With everything now stowed away in the trunk of my car I drove back, remaining human and it felt a little weird to be back with dulled senses and normal bodily functions like sweating.

When I got back I could hear part of the conversation Cade was having with Tessa and Shane and it made me smile. "You stole mouthwash?"

"I like to be fresh when I'm making out with your daughter." Of course I think Shane was partially joking, trying to tease Cade a little but when it came to his daughter, Cade did not bend the rules. He grabbed the mouthwash and launched it across the room unceremoniously which made Bee laugh as I pulled up and switched off the car.

"Yeah, that's not happening. Ever." Tessa paled, blinking at her father.

"Ever?" With a small smile I opened up the car door and swung my feet out, stiletto heels clicking as they touched the ground before I rose up and stepped into view. Immediately all three fellow humans looked towards me and their mouths dropped, eyes widening as I walked around the back of the car and opened up the trunk.

"Whoa, who the hell are you and how did you find us?" Cade demanded to know, immediately grabbing a weapon in the shape of a wrench so I arched an eyebrow at him.

"It's me, Helen. Stop being a douche and help me with these. I got us all some food to take with us and there's takeout in the back." All of them just continued staring at me so I sighed, holding out a pair of bags. "Tessa honey, these are for you. Come on, I don't bite. You'll like them I promise." Tessa moved forwards, eager to take the bags however Cade gripped her arms and carefully drew her back behind him.

"Wait a second and back up a minute, you're human? You're like us? Then how come you can do all that transforming and everything?" He demanded to know so I rolled my eyes and put the bags back down, lacing my arms together as Bumblebee sniggered to himself, amused at their gobsmacked and astonished expressions. Having become so used to everyone simply knowing who and what I was, I forgot that outsiders wouldn't necessarily know the story.

"Yes I'm human and yes, I can also transform. Long story short, I was killed in the conflict of Mission City ten years ago and Optimus brought me back to life. Ever since then, I've been able to transfer my consciousness into inanimate vehicles, however this car was specially designed for me using the metal of deceased Deceptions and built to run on energon, which is what gives us all life." I summed it all up for them and Cade still looked awestruck as he stared at me up and down. "Now are you gonna help me with these bags or not?"

Satisfied with my explanation Tessa and Shane eagerly came to help me unpack some of the stuff, namely the takeout though when Tessa looked through the bags I got her, she made a noise of relief. "Thank god, I thought I was going to die in these shoes." She breathed and hurriedly took off her wedges and exchanged them for the sneakers I'd bought for her as well as a pair of ankle socks. "You're a real life saver, thank you so much."

"My pleasure Tessa. I didn't know if you needed anything else so I bought the essentials. Girl to girl, I know times can be tough on the run." I said to her as she picked up the pack of sanitary towels and she looked at me like I was a god send. We four ate food together, clearing up every morsel of the takeout before Cade had to go out and start the first part of our plan. "Here, jacket and tie. That should look smart enough but since you're driving up in a million dollar car, I doubt anyone will really notice the Walmart label." I said to him as I held open the jacket so he could turn around and slide his arms inside.

"It's good. It feels good, um. Thanks." Cade said a little awkwardly as he tugged at the lapels before facing me. Reaching out I tidied up his lopsided tie, doing it so that it fit properly and smartly against his collar but even though I was focused, I could tell he was staring at me.

"You have questions."

"Oh yeah, I have a lot of questions." He agreed, exhaling deeply as if relieved I'd said something. "How exactly did you die and then come back to life? Was it some kind of alien technology? How did it all work?" I see his inventor's mind was puzzling over the questions and desperate for the answers so I smiled at him evenly.

"Well, there was this artefact that belonged to these guys called the All Spark, we humans called it the Cube. It contained the power to bring to life mechanical objects and bring the Autobots and Decepticons back to life. Mission City was all about trying to keep the Cube away from the Decepticons and their leader Megatron. Myself and a friend of mine, Sam, got involved and we ended up destroying the Cube together by pushing it into Megatron's chest, uniting it with his spark." I tapped my chest to signify the spark. "It's like their heart. Anyway, the backlash of the energy from the Cube killed me after I held on for too long, however Optimus was able to merge his spark with my heart and since I had been exposed to the Cube's power, I was alive again and now my body relies on energon to survive." I think that just about covered every angle. "It won't work for anyone else in the world, just me."

"That is incredible. You're incredible." Cade said in awe before quickly trying to backtrack and correct himself, flushing slightly at the neck. "I mean uh, just that it's fascinating what happened to you. Bad, I mean bad. Though good that you're alive, I mean it kind of sucked that you died but uh…I'll just stop talking." Inclining my head I stepped back from him, folding my arms as Bumblebee stepped forwards and stood behind me slightly.

"Hey Cade." I called out to him and he halted as he was about to climb into Drift, looking back at me. "Be careful in there." Nodding his head Cade ducked in then he and Drift moved off. "I don't like this Bee. I feel like we shouldn't involve any of them anymore than they already are. This could prove to be more dangerous than we know." Bumblebee hummed at me softly, trying to reassure me so I gratefully patted his arm. "I have a bad feeling about this KSI."

Cade didn't return until later that evening but he had been successful and all of us relaxed knowing that things were going according to plan. It was dark outside and I had returned to Autobot form, feeling safer and better protected this way, with a full body of armour. "Excuse me." Cade's voice made me look up from where I had been resting to see Cade glowering heatedly at where Tessa and Shane were cuddling together. "There's no smooching in front of me, okay?"

"You're so square. Who even says 'smooching'?" A warm feeling flickered inside me. It was nice to see a father so loving and protective towards his daughter, though in Cade's case I think he went a little over the top.

"I tell you, no respect. It's just impossible sometimes."

"Yeah." Optimus agreed as he folded his arms. "I went through that with Bumblebee." The idea of Bumblebee being young and rebellious tickled me. We couldn't do anything more until the morning and whilst Cade, Shane and Bumblebee went through the back in order to get inside, I stayed with the others nearby just in case they needed a quick extraction. Tessa sat with me, twitching and nervously jiggling her hands.

"They're going to be fine Tessa, don't worry." I said to her, one hand resting on the steering wheel.

"Yeah I know. I'm just worried my dad is going to rip into Shane. You know, he didn't want me dating until after college but I started dating Shane behind his back." Tessa told me so I listened. "I just knew he was the one, I love him so much and I didn't want to disobey my dad or anything, but he made me happy."

"If it's any consolation, I don't think you did anything wrong." I offered her and she looked to me in surprise. "Take it from someone who rebelled against her parents so much, she got disowned. You're fine. Sure, you didn't tell your dad you were dating someone who's a few years older, but you seem like sensible kids to me. He'll come around." Tessa blinked at me.

"You got disowned?"

"Disowned, disinherited, the whole works." I smirked to myself a little smugly. "My parents and me never got on. They were so uptight and severe whilst I walked around with glitter and neon paint all the time so I guess it was just a clash against personalities. They were never really homey people anyway, only had a kid because it was expected of them and because they wanted someone to take everything when they died, but they got me." Resting my head back a moment, I suddenly found myself thinking about my parents. Not to my surprise, I couldn't really see a clear picture of them anymore and I had no idea what they looked like now. It's been a long time since I last spoke to them.

"I'm sorry." Waking from my reverie I gave Tessa a smile and patted her hand in reassurance. To fill the time, Tessa told me about how she wanted to go to college and what she wanted to study as well as all her big plans for her life but was stuck because no college would accept her because she had no financial aid, which then made her leap into a complaint about how her dad spent all his time fixing junk. Her rant was interrupted when Shane came back, rather hurriedly leaving Bumblebee and scrambled into my car in the backseat.

"That was intense."

"You okay?" For a guy who only drove there and back he looked rather shaken and sweaty but when he explained about Bumblebee breaking a Stinger model and how Cade had grilled him about the time he'd snuck around the house in the middle of the night. Tessa looked like she was about to murder her father so I calmed them both down, telling them that it was fine and that it was all over. That is until Cade connected to everyone and activated the spy drone.

"I'm in. Can you see my camera?" He asked and the video appeared across my windscreen, showing Ratchet's face being torched and melted. "They're melting Ratchet." Instantly Optimus transformed, rage blazing through him like storm and fire as he swung a fist and smashed a lamppost, knocking it down and taking out part of the wall as well.

"They slaughtered Ratchet! I'm gonna tear them apart!" To emotional to respond I put the car in gear and raced after everyone else, tight lipped and my heart pulsing with strong and intense vibrations. When I pulled up outside of KSI I spun the car around and the doors both opened as I slipped into stasis, transferring my mind to the car which then became my body.

"Stay out of sight. We'll be back for you." I told them darkly and both Tessa and Shane quickly got out, allowing me to drive straight forwards with Bumblebee at my side. Together we flipped over the barrier poles and transformed, smashing our way through the glass and I ducked into a roll, rising up with a leap to clear the stairs and yell with a powerful voice. "If you wish to live, then run!" My weapons were exposed, a shield in one hand and my sword in the other and with everyone else, we blasted our way down to the lower floor where they kept the laboratory.

"Get out! All of you!" Optimus roared as we all let loose and fired upon everything though I took particular satisfaction in kicking and smashing things by hand.

"Science fair's over, meatbags!" Hound rumbled as we all set to work.

"Prime: Destroy the lab! Destroy it all!" Whirling around I sliced my sword through the transformer they were building, destroying it completely however when I heard a familiar voice I spun on my heel and looked directly at a metal case where Brains was locked inside, hooked up with wires and cables embedded into his head with a harness.

"Guys! It's me! Break me out of this Frankenstein box!"

"Brains!" Clearing the distance in a single leap I punched through the box, shattering the glass completely and delicately lifted him out, cupping him in my hands as I dropped to my knees. "Oh Brains, what have they done to you? Your poor leg."

"Am I glad to see you again. Kick their asses for me!" He demanded and I nodded my head and placed him up on my shoulder where he could sit safely, turning around and loaded up one of my most powerful weapons, the cannons on my arms joining together to form one huge gun and I blasted through the lab and wrecked their programming station.

"Hey! Hey! Stop! That's company property!" A human voice yelled with fury and contempt, making all of us stop and glare at him with Optimus feeling the most rage of all.

"They're not your property!" He bellowed before his voice lowered but no less filled with anger as he pointed behind him. "They were my friends." My optics scanned the identification card on the jacket and picked out the name Joshua Joyce. So, he was the supposed genius behind all this. For a scientist, he didn't seem all afraid of us, not even when Hound pointed his weapon at Joyce's face and Brains crowed at him from my shoulder.

"Oh, you ain't talking so much now! You got Hound in front of you, huh?"

"Go ahead." He invited, smirking slightly as he looked up at us. "Show us your true colours, once and for all."

"Just give me the word, I'll splatter him." Optimus held up his hand to halt Hound from doing anything but even as Joyce spoke I wanted nothing more than to shoot him myself. It's because of him and Attinger that Jazz was dead. He should be made to pay. These guys may be Autobots, but I was still part human and the human side of me wanted vengeance.

"Why don't you tell Itchy Fingers here that this is all the spoils of war. Dead metal. Innovation. What we do here is science, because if we don't do it, somebody else will. Because you cannot stop technology!"

"We're not your technology!" Optimus roared and smashed through a screen to pronounce his fury.

"Let me vaporize his ass."

"I broke the code. I own your whole genome." Joyce continued, still unfazed and actually, if I'm not mistaken, was rather enjoying himself. That smugness on his face said that he knew he wasn't going to get shot, that he knew the Autobots wouldn't hurt him and that he was on some kind of morale high horse that we couldn't drag him down from.

"The world will know what you're doing here."

"The world? The world will approve. We can make you now. Don't you get it? We don't need you anymore." I felt a deep hurt come from Optimus's side of the bond, retreating back slightly before snorting.

"Autobots, we're done." Oh no we are not. Kneeling down I transformed and returned to my human body with Brains sat on the roof of my car and the Autobots looked at me as I got out and breezed towards Joyce with a steady gaze, the shape of my hips accented by my jeans as I approached him with my high heels and tousled mane of red bouncing with the light waves. Joyce blinked at me then stared, watching as I slowed to a stop before him with a cold expression. All at once I swung my fist, decking him in the face and the force ripped his head back and he fell on his back, stunned by the blow as I towered over him.

"They were _my_ family." I told him in a deadly murmur. Walking away from Joyce I stopped in front of the remains of Ratchet's face, my façade breaking slightly as I reached out and touched the still warm metal from where they had been melting him. There was so little of him left there was not even his features to distinguish him. Swallowing back the lump in my throat I shifted back part of the metal to find an eye. Without even meaning to I pulled the optic ring that surrounded the eye itself free, turning it over in my hand before I turned and walked away back to my car. As I walked I took off my necklace and threaded the fourth piece on, praying and hoping that I would never have to add another. Brains was crowing smugly as Joyce hastily picked himself up off the floor, unable to do anything but stare as I climbed back into my car then drove away with the others. Bumblebee stopped to pick up Cade and the kids and Brains rode with me, standing on my wheel and singing loudly.

"Freedom baby! Ooh yeah I'm a free 'bot, they ain't catching me again!"

"Hey Brains?" I spoke to him through the radio. "I'm really sorry about what happened, I truly am. I should have found you, looked harder. I shouldn't have let them get away with you in the first place." My voice was deep with regret however Brains patted my dashboard gently.

"Don't worry about it, I knew you'd be coming for me sooner or later. Took your sweet time 'bout it though. How's my boy Wheelie?" With a soft chuckle I told him that Wheelie was doing fine and that he was safe along with a second group of Autobots which he was glad to hear about. We head out onto the highway, all of us sticking close to one another like a pack. Suddenly my heart began to feel like it was sparking, large shocks of electricity coursing through my chest area so I accelerated to scan ahead, finding a familiar signature yet it was also unfamiliar, like it had mutated or changed ever so slightly.

"Incoming!" I yelled to everyone and slammed on my brakes, tyres screeching and Brains yelled as he was flung forwards and had to grab onto the wheel to stop himself from crashing into the window as I swerved around to avoid incoming fire, everyone else doing the same, turning about face and racing the other way. There were two of those human made transformers coming after us. One was built with a truck alternate mode and the other one was darkly coloured, streaking after us whilst the other transformed back. Bumblebee relayed the information about the smaller car to my processor. Stinger, they called it…Stinger? Jesus that was a lame name.

"Missiles incoming!" Drift warned as he and Crosshairs banked and I had to swerve as well to avoid being struck, continuing to race ahead as my speedometer needle continued to creep upwards into the triple figures. As the missiles struck civilian vehicles ahead I jerked the wheel and skidded at an angle, transforming at the last moment to jump over the fray with an added boost of my thrusters, wings unfolding at my back so that I arched over the bridge then resumed my car mode when I touched the ground, not looking behind me as I focused on getting out of there with everyone.

After a few miles, I suddenly realised that Optimus wasn't following and yelled across for everyone to turn back and we all drifted in unison, turning on our tails and racing back the way we came in order to find Optimus, Cade and the kids. We found Shane and Cade yelling for Tessa, running after a giant spaceship in the sky which was flying away from us. "What happened? Where's Optimus?" I asked as I transformed and knelt on the ground next to Cade and Shane, worry striking my chest where I could feel pain and aching from Optimus's end.

"It took Tessa, Tessa, it took my little girl…" Cade hyperventilated, turning and raking his hands through his hair. "You gotta help me, I have to go get her. If we fly up there, you can help me get her back right?" I blinked at him then looked towards the spaceship, analysing it carefully and allowed the wealth of Cybertronian information to give me all of the ship's history, structure and the signatures inside. Sure enough there was Optimus as well as a human's heat signature and also that of Lockdown.

"We must rescue sensei, we must do it now!"

"Yeah, or they'll be out in space and we'll never catch up." Crosshairs agreed with Drift however as they started to charge forwards my arm jerked out and barred their way, making them stop as my mind started to work and plan.

"No."

"No? What do you mean no? How can you say no? My little girl is on board that thing and she's going to die unless we get her back right now!" Cade shouted at me angrily, lashing out by kicking my foot and Bumblebee protested but I shook my head.

"We can't board that ship right now. Listen, if Lockdown wanted to leave our Solar System he would have done so by now, but from the direction and altitude of that ship, I can tell it's heading back to Chicago. If we go in there weapons blazing, Lockdown is going to know we're after Optimus and Tessa and will kill us all. He's got an entire spaceship's worth of arsenal, we've only got us." I explained to him before reaching down and placing as much of my hand on his shoulder. "For now we follow, let him think he's won. We'll sneak on board and free both Tessa _and_ Optimus. I promise you." With those worse I stood upright and circled my hand to signal to everyone else. "Autobots, fall in and roll out."

Leading the way I transformed and I was surprised when no one argued, following my example and Shane quickly got into Bumblebee though he had to drag Cade with him as he had just stood there. We drove back to Chicago, following the ship and I used my scanners to figure out what was going on up there. The most I could tell was that there were more humans up there now with Lockdown, though what they were doing, I couldn't say.

"Come on, Bee, it's descending. You gotta get on it!" Cade encouraged as we started to go high, needing altitude in order to reach the spaceship. "Come on, come on! Bee, come on!" All of us transformed and stood upon the bridge, looking at the colossal ship and feeling extremely small in size. Ever since I'd been introduced to the alien world, things just kept on getting bigger. Even me, funnily enough.

"It's a bad idea, but I'm all about bad ideas. Let's go!" Hound cheered with enthusiasm as he took the leap, Bumblebee grabbing Cade whilst I took Shane and together we made it across, though whilst everyone else had to jump I glided over effortlessly with my boosters, landing on a platform and put Shane down as everyone else followed behind. When we reached the top of the ship and looked down, it seemed to go on forever with dark metal twisting, moving and shifting constantly in all places.

"This is crazy."

"Look, you wanna cut and run, you better do it now." Cade quipped at Shane who frowned at him slightly. "I'm gonna die trying."

"Hey, I'm not here to help you get your daughter. You're here to help me get my girlfriend." A twitch of a smirk touched my lips as I signalled everyone to stay low and stay quiet whilst they waited for my signal. I dropped down first, using my flight to slip inside and scan the area to make sure it was safe before rising back up to the others.

"Alright we're clear. Everyone inside, we won't have much time." Nodding their heads and giving their responses, I dropped back down to the ground and stood guard as everyone climbed down from the outside.

"We're behind enemy lines now. Lockdown's ship has booby traps so eyes open." Hound said to us all as we all slowly began to make our way forwards whilst Crosshairs rather unhelpfully listed off all the things that would either kill or make us suffer immense pain before killing us. Lovely.

"Beware of his bone grinders, brain blinders, flesh peelers, chromosomal inverters, catatonic sludge, black hole trapdoors, and, of course, radiation."

"We must be quick, we have the element of surprise. Let's try to use violence as a last resort." Drift said as he stepped stealthily ahead however when something launched at him from within an open face pod he yelped and started to slash at it with his blades, rather viciously cutting off the head and stabbing at it until the pod. "I kill you! Kill you!"

"Ugh! I hate those things." Hound spat as Cade twitched.

"That's freaky."

"He's not alive anymore." Behind them I smacked my hand against my face.

"Really guys? That's stealth?" Drift gave me a guilty shrug and a grin so I rolled my eyes, the bright optics changing from green to purple as I looked around me.

"Well, we looked. They're not here. Let's go." Crosshairs decided, throwing up his hands and making to leave however before he even took a step Cade stopped him by speaking out.

"What? Hey, I'm not going anywhere without Tessa."

"I'm unclear. What's in it for me?" Anger sparking in my chest I stepped past him but before he could move I spun him to the ground and grabbed his neck, crunching it with both my arms as I held him in a headlock so strong he gasped and struggled against me, clawing at my arm rather uselessly.

"How about you leave here with your head still fixed to your shoulders? How's that?" I offered him before giving a jerk to exert my point to him, glaring down fiercely with no compromise. "None of us are leaving here until we get Tessa and my father, do you understand me?" Unable to talk Crosshairs simply nodded his head ardently so I let him go and he quickly recovered his breath with a deep gulp, rubbing his head as his eyes spun slightly.

"Okay, okay. Very persuasive. Textbook machismo. Well, then. We'll need to sabotage something."

"Better hurry because dark-matter drives are preparing to take off." Drift informed us all as the distant whirring sound started to grow more intense and the pitch gradually increased. "I give us ten minutes."

"Is that what that sound is? The engines filling up? Are you telling me that thing's gonna be...this is gonna be flying out of here in ten minutes?" Shane panicked and Drift affirmed it with a nod. "Ten minutes?!"

"Could be nine. Worst case, seven." Well then, that doesn't leave us a lot of time now, does it? We had better get to work. Already starting to scan as much of the ship as I could I searched for human lifelines as well as Optimus's signature, using our connection to help me gravitate towards him.

"Cade, you and Shane search the cell blocks. Head in that direction then take your second left and keep going. Drift and Crosshairs, delay this ship from leaving. Hound, you come with me and we'll look for Optimus. Bumblebee, I want you to take topside and keep an eye on enemy movement. Radio in if you see anything." I instructed everyone and they saluted back at me before doing as I ordered, going their different ways which left me with Hound.

"You know you're pretty good at this leadership crap. Can tell you're the boss's sparkling through and through." He said to me as he chewed on the end of his cigar.

"Well, I learned from the best. Stay alert, they'll know that there are trespassers soon enough." Together Hound and I searched the ship and I continued scanning whereby I finally got a hit on Optimus's signature, causing my spirit to lift and I hurried towards it just as Drift and Crosshairs caught up with us. We moved through this seemingly never ending ship until finally I triangulated Optimus's position, drawing us right to him and when there was a door in my way, I silently walked up to it and blasted it open. "No time for knocking." I excused as I stepped inside to see a large open area with a circular cell row, spinning rings rolling around one another fluently.

"Wow."

"This has got to be the Supermax. Watch the corners." Hound advised as he stepped through, gun ready in hand.

"There's a lot of cages."

"Oh, yeah. Creepy critters in here." Walking on up to one of the cages as I looked around, sensing several other presences in the room so I scanned for them and picked each of them up, identifying several of them however a few I could not pinpoint in my database. "Aw, you don't look very dangerous in there." Hound said as he stuck his face up against the cage of one of the creatures. "Oh, that's festering ugliness." He commented right before the creature spit in a nasty smelling green ooze into his face, making Hound rip backwards and yell as he crashed into the ground. "I'm hit! I'm down! It's melting! It burns! Ah, I think it's acid!" He wailed until he realised that his face wasn't dropping off. "Ah, nuts. It's just shizzle."

"I hope that's not contagious." Crosshairs commented as Hound wiped the ooze off his face before looking toward the creature.

"I gotta hurt you now. You're just too disturbing to live. Take that, bitch!" With a single shot Hound shot the creature before I could stop him and it splattered with more of that green gunk. "Oh! You're dead."

"Moron." I snapped as I walked past and smacked him on the head. "Make as much noise as you possibly can why don't you? You'll bring the entire ship's crew down on us at this rate." My moment of irritation halted when I heard Optimus call out to us and immediately we were all up on our feet and racing towards him. I got there first, grasping onto the cage and giving it a tug as I looked inside to find him hanging upside down. "Optimus!"

"He's alive!"

"Hold on, boss, we're coming!" As the others also reached the cage I had managed to pry it open, refusing to give in as I started to then pull and tug at his restraints whilst Optimus spoke urgently.

"The arms of this Knight Ship detach. We can break free as it's a separate ship! Hurry!"

"Which way, left or right?" Hound questioned as Optimus continued to swing.

"Right!" Hound hurried off to go in search of the cockpit and I had to step back for Drift to use his one of his smaller blades to chip away at Optimus's restraints.

"Hey what do half of these buttons and levers even do? I'm not qualified for this!" Hound yelled back to us so I turned and ran to the cockpit, grabbing his arm and hauling him out of the piloting seat.

"Let me do it. It's an old model interstellar spaceship with a reverse control clutch system and a helluva load of ancient alien crap which I don't understand, but if there's one thing I learned how to do since meeting you guys, it's how to fly." With my optics and processors absorbing all the information I could gather I pieces together everything around me, activating the ship and prepared to deploy with my hands constantly moving, pulling at levers and adjusting dials until the ship came fully online.

"Hurry, he's launching!" Optimus ordered as he and Drift came through to the cockpit, lingering at my side as I continued to hurriedly activate the systems and run the detachment protocol. "Lockdown will be in deep space before he realises I'm gone."

"You better hold on, this could be a little bumpy." I warned them so they grabbed onto something to steady they balance as I detached from the main ship and pulled away just as it shot into space, leaving us to fly away safely and I exhaled with relief, slumping slightly with relief. Thank god that had worked. Optimus touched his hand to my shoulder, giving me a proud nod before watching the skies through the window. Moving through the city I was about to take us elsewhere when I noticed something green on the ground and Crosshairs made contact, asking if we wouldn't mind stopping by to pick him up.

Lowering the ship down I opened up the back so that Crosshairs could jump in before I sealed us inside and I took us out of the city before we could be followed or tracked, heading for somewhere safe and remote. By the time I touched the ship down, I was an expert and flying the thing and didn't even make a jolt as I landed safely on the ground.

"Well done." Optimus praised me.

"Oh it's nothing really, flies herself mostly." I shrugged, releasing myself from the pilot's seat and opened up the doors so that we could all get out. After sending a signal to Bumblebee to give him our location we all waited and after I sat down on one of the freight carts, I popped open an alcove I had created inside my chest where Brains was resting so I woke him up.

"What, I missed all the action? Girl why didn't you wake me?"

"I thought you needed the rest." I told him as I held him in my hands before I set him down. "I promise I'll fix your leg when I get the chance. You'll be good as new in no time." Brains was happy with that plan and set about searching for some scrap metal to munch on whilst we waited for the others to join us. Sitting quietly for a long while I didn't stir until I sensed Bumblebee approaching, opening my eyes and sat up a little straighter as he came to a halt and Cade, Tessa and Shane stepped out. Good, I'm glad they rescued Tessa. Not too shabby of a plan, am I right?

"Let's give Bumblebee the good news." Crosshairs invited before proceeding himself as I jumped down and straightened my back, looking around at everyone briefly. "We got a ship now, we're leaving."

"You humans." Optimus spoke, addressing Cade in particular as he squinted against the sunlight to look up at Optimus, his despairing voice making my body tense involuntarily. "After all we have done. You don't know what you've wrought upon yourselves."

"What? What is it now? What are you talking about? I mean, I'm doing stuff out of my league here!" Cade yelled up to him in confusion however Optimus continued to walk, pointing a finger at Cade as if he were responsible for the entire human race.

"You don't see who's controlling who. Within that man-made prototype I fought, I sensed the presence of Megatron." No. you've got to be kidding me. Megatron? How many times do we have to kill that bastard? Though it would explain the sense of recognition I felt from before. So it was Megatron, he's just different now and that was why I couldn't pinpoint his identity.

"What, the Decepticon that started the Chicago war?"

"How do you think KSI built those bots in the first place, hm?" Brains questioned as he hopped along, using his leg as a crutch. "They had a whole mess of dead Decepticon heads and they were downloading their minds and I was in charge of autopsy duty. No union, no benefits, no nothing. They hooked me up to Megatron, and that mind wasn't as dead as they thought. He fed them the science and specs! All so they could build him a brand-new body. Then he infected it with his evil, nasty chromosomes. They had red, beady eyes. They got all in my lovely locks. Oh, I can smell it right now. Total inside custom job! KSI might have named the body the snappy name like _Galvatron_ , but that's just Megatron reincarnated!" Holy crap this is bad. Extremely bad. If this was the case then this meant he had to have some kind of endgame here.

"You knew this and you didn't warn them?" Tessa asked him however Brains merely looked at her sombrely as he continued to make his way to the ground so I stretched up my hand and he hopped on, allowing me to gently lower him to the ground as he spoke.

"Little girl, you can go to a pretty dark place when you on death row. He's been playing KSI all this time, all so that he could manipulate them into going after the Seed."

"Wait. The Seed?"

"Those nasty soldiers that were chasing us? I saw them board the ship and they took something that they called the Seed." Glancing between Shane and Tessa I looked up towards Optimus, expecting him to do or say something for further explanation, because I had never heard of this device before and it was another thing not stored in my Cybertronian database.

"Listen. Sixty million years ago, give or take an eon..." Hound began and Optimus lifted his hand, signalling he would continue.

"Thousands of planets were cyber-formed with Seeds. They turned your organic life into our elemental metals. Our creators destroyed your world to make us." Wait, so that would have been around the time of the dinosaurs. Are you telling me that _aliens_ killed all the dinosaurs and not a meteor?!

"And that's what Galvatron wants to happen again. He wants to detonate that Seed in the biggest city and kill millions! He's gonna show the world, 'baby, I'm back'." And we all know that whenever that happens, it always means there will be consequences and innocents drawn into the conflict, even killed.

"The blast wave will incinerate that city into molten metal. He'll have enough to build a massive army and annihilate your species forever."

"You dumb, greedy bastards just brought extinction to yourself. Not my problem, though. I'm free at last. Whole thing worked out good for me. I'm walking." Brains agreed as he hopped away with a flower in his hand.

"We gotta get the Seed before Galvatron does." Cade said desperately. "You guys are gonna help, right? You can't just leave us hanging like this, I mean, we don't even know where the Seed is right now." He said and the Autobots all glanced to one another until, to my surprise, they all looked at me. I frowned then looked behind me, checking over my shoulders before tilting my head.

"Why are you all looking at me?"

"Well, we wanna know what you think, princess." Crosshairs said to me and I arched a brow plate at the new nickname. "This is your planet after all, though I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to just let it rot." My mind reeled slightly and I had to pace a little to think things through, my processors whirring. Galvatron is Megatron reincarnated and now he wants this Seed that, if detonated, will kill millions of people, destroy an entire city and give him enough material for him to build a brand new army of Decepticons, which he will use to destroy everyone on Earth as well as the Earth itself. I can't let that happen. Even after everything that some of these humans have done, I'm still one of them and I cannot allow an entire race to be held accountable for a rare few.

"Intercept communications between Joshua Joyce and his contacts, we need to know where he is or where he's going because he'll be the one to have the Seed. Let's just start there." I said with a wave of my hand before walking away, wanting to clear my head a little. I heard Cade break into the train warehouse so that Tessa could sleep for a while but other than that, I stood in an empty field and looked out to the horizon. This was my home. No matter how unattached I was to the human race, I still loved this world. There were too many memories that I treasured that were held within it, from coast to coast of America to the desserts of Egypt, and there is still so much more I wanted to see.

"Do you regret it?" Optimus questioned and his arrival made me awake from my thoughts. "Becoming what you are. Do you miss being human?"

"No, not really." I responded softly, standing by his side as we both looked out to the skyline. "I was never very good at fitting in as a human, so this always worked for me. Besides, my life became much happier when you guys showed up, especially when I became a part of you. Although…I guess I do miss certain things."

"Such as?" Pausing a moment I glanced up at Optimus before continuing.

"I've been part of this world for ten years now and in that time, I've learned more than I could have ever possibly imagined, more than any scientist or scholar in this world could teach me, but I guess I miss the simplicity of being human. I'd sleep, eat, work, maybe socialise, then do it all over again the next day. For the last five years, I haven't been able to rest peacefully, always worrying about an ambush or being captured. I've been on the run, racing around the globe and rescuing my friends and even watched as a few of them died right before me. I guess…I guess I miss not knowing what it feels like to know so much pain and sorrow. I miss being ignorant."

"War burdens the soul irreparably, little spark, unfortunately there is no going back on it." Optimus said to me as he placed his hand upon my back and a warm feeling began to rise through the bond as a means to comfort me. "You have been brave and full of courage, leading our brethren when I could not. I am proud of all you have accomplished and I know you will go on to achieve more."

"No one can lead like you do, Optimus. In my eyes, no one is better suited for the job." I told him, taking a deep breath. "No matter what happens, I don't regret any choices I have made and I wouldn't go back even if I could. This is where I'm meant to be and I know what I have to do, I just don't want to have to do it alone." Optimus regarded me at that point, studying me carefully before bending down a little so that we were at an even height.

"For as long as we both live, you shall never have to face anything alone, my little spark. I will _always_ protect you. Even should it cost me my life."


	34. Chapter 34

After we had identified Joyce's location we made the decision to go to China and take the Seed back before it could be obtained by Galvatron. Back in the piloting seat I pulled us away just as the authorities arrived, flying off into the skies and once I was at a high enough altitude, I hit the thrusters and increased our speed, breaking the sound barrier as the ship flew across the globe. We don't have much time as it was and all I could think about was an entire city being turned to metal by that Seed's detonation. I thought we were finally rid of Megatron five years ago, but now he was brought back and this time by human hands.

Progress. All in the name of progress. Didn't they ever consider that alien technology should not be something to tamper with since it could have any number of disastrous repercussions? None of this crap happened whilst there was a law that disallowed alien experimentation. What do I have to do? Bitch slap every world leader until they see sense? God help me I'll do it, I'll slap them all until they were blue in the face. "Coming up on location, I have a trace on the Seed." I said as the ship fed me information and I guided it smoothly over the city, carefully angling away from the buildings as not to clip any of them. "I have a visual on Joyce, descending. Get ready!" I yelled back a little louder as I opened up the back and lowered the ramp, lowering the ship down towards the building and hovering.

Twisting around I tried to see what was happening, waiting for someone to give me the signal to go however barely a few seconds in, warning signs suddenly flared up before we took an impact, several collisions of missiles ramming against us and took out one of the engines. "We're hit! We are very much hit! Hold on everyone!" I yelled, scrambling to try and steady the ship however it was all I could do to keep from crashing through one of the taller buildings, wrenching on the controls to guide us away from civilians and we spiralled further out of the city and into the mountains. "Get ready!"

Putting everything I had into flying the destabilised ship, I crash landed with the main blow of the force one the one side, however as the ship spiralled and skid over the ground and ripping everything in its wake I felt the full collision ram against me and I was torn from my chair and slammed against the solid ceiling before I then struck the ground, rolling uncontrollably until everything went still. I was completely still, knocked out from the force of the blow however as my systems came back online, I felt as if I had had a massive boulder dropped on my head. "Sparkling! Helen! Say something!" Optimus yelled hurriedly as he picked himself up and tore forwards to the front of the ship. "Oh no."

I felt him pick me up as I blinked, the lights of my optics flickering back into life slowly until I started to focus again. "Sorry about the landing."

"It was not of your making." He said to me as he rose up and carried me out into the open, easily carrying me away from the ship and set me down with Crosshairs and Drift who both knelt down and placed their hands on my shoulders as I started to shift the pieces of my chest apart, exposing my spark and the little cocoon where my body lay. The protective layers peeled back and I lifted my body out to inspect it carefully, needing to know if I had been injured during the crash.

"I still can't get used to that, it's a little freaky you carrying your own body around like a puppet." Crosshairs said to me as I put my human body back into its case where my chest then closed around it and I checked this body for any damage.

"You know for a time I thought you guys were freaky, so it's all a matter of perspective." I responded to him as we all recovered ourselves from the collision. Once I was stable enough I went back to the ship and inspected the damage from the outside, scanning everything to see whether or not it was fixable. Thankfully the thick outer armour had held off most of the damage, it was the interior kinks which were going to be a pain to work through, though I stopped fiddling when a contact from Hound came through.

"Optimus, what are my orders with these humans? Can I squish the bald guy?" If he meant Joyce then I had no qualms with that, the douchebag.

"They're in trouble." Optimus rumbled morbidly, rising up on his feet as Crosshairs waved his hands and shook his head in denial.

"No, this isn't our fight! I'm done being an underdog. Underdogs suck! I say they get what they deserve."

"Hey! This is my world you're talking about leaving to be trashed by Decepticons. If you want to run for the hills then go ahead, run away if you want." I yelled across to him before vaulting off the ship and landing with a rather satisfying boom on the ground, standing up to my full height as my armour hide shifted and changed, evolving as I redesigned it into a more knightly looking appeal with proud sweeping shoulder guards and slates which interlocked with one another across my torso and upper body. "But like I said, this is my world. I was born and bred on this air, this planet, and I'm not going to let some asshole Decepticon turn it into a harvesting farm and slaughter house."

"Bah, then it's your problem, not ours." Crosshairs waved off though he turned to Optimus for a directive. "What's the play, Prime?"

"It's time for reinforcements." He proclaimed before heading on back into the ship, making me frown slightly and look questioningly at the other two but they both shrugged and held up their hands, signalling that they didn't have a clue either. We stood outside and waited, listening to the sounds of groaning, crunching and a few loud clashes before finally Optimus emerged once more, only he wasn't alone.

"You've got to be kidding me." By the way Crosshairs and Drift were staring up at these huge giants that towered above even Optimus, I could tell this was a big deal even though I had no idea what they were or where they had come from.

"Legendary warriors, the powers that created us now want us all extinguished. We must join forces, or else forever be their slaves. So today you stand with us, or you stand against me." No matter what it was Optimus said, it always came out sounding so completely awesome and badass. I bet if he did commercials he would sell millions of products just for being the way he was. One of the colossal giant went right ahead and attacked Optimus, making the entire ground pulse and shift with each blow and I jolted violently with alarm until both Drift and Crosshairs took an arm each and pulled me away.

"We'll let Prime figure this one out."

"Very wise." Drift agreed as we moved to a safer distance and Crosshairs relaxed back on a streaming waterfall which trickled around him delicately.

"There's no friggin' way I'm staying down here with them. No way. No way." As usual, Optimus was cooler than anything else in the world when he fought. He was fearless and did not hesitate or waver, fighting back against his opponent with strength and skill befitting a leader of his stature.

"Only together can we survive! Let me lead you!" Optimus demanded however as the giant robot got up from the ground it started to shift, its parts rotating and switching places until the final figure stood and breathed fire and, without my knowing, my jaw dropped wide open.

"Oh, no. I was expecting a giant car." Drift mused. A dinosaur. It was a frigging dinosaur. More specifically, it was a tyrannosaurus. Nobody said anything about involving dinosaurs! Jesus, when will I have finally seen everything, huh? Every time something goes wrong the universe throws something completely new and crazy at me. It's a wonder I'm still sane.

"Come here! We're giving you freedom!" With a powerful strike to the maw Optimus sent the dinosaur robot tumbling, rolling into the dirt where it groaned softly. Hey, Dinobot, that'll work. "You defend my family, or die." With that final warning Optimus sat upon the tyrannosaurus's neck, lifting the broadsword he now wielded high into the air. "Autobots, we're going to prove who we are and why we're here!" He declared and I gave a disbelieving laugh as I jumped down to the ground and approached the Dinobots as they all transformed into dinosaurs as well.

"Ah, you just want to die for the guy. That's leadership, or brainwashing, or something."

"No." Drift disagreed as he turned towards our leader with a smile of pride. "That's Optimus Prime." Both Crosshairs and Drift took the spinosaurus and triceratops respectively, leaving me with the two headed pteranodon. With a boost from my thrusters I flew up towards it, pausing at the two heads to gently touch them in greeting and it responded by leaning into my touch so I took it as a sign that I was permitted to hitch a ride.

"Autobots, we charge together! Now, roll out!" Hands down, best ultimate charge of my life. We tore through the valley and crashed our way back into the city where the Dinobots devastated everything they ploughed through, however they focused their attacks on the animated army of transformer prototypes, crushing them with their fangs, spikes and ramming them with their horns.

"Okay fella, let's dive!" I called out and my new friend instantly dove downwards, making me hunker down and grip onto the base of their necks for stability. "Bee! Jump!" Looking up Bumblebee instantly jumped up into the air and the pteranodon reached out with its claws and grabbed hold of his arms as I leaned back, guiding it away from the thick of the battle however as we rose up, I suddenly felt us sink under extra weight and the pteranodon struggled to keep in the air. "Bumblebee, watch out!"

Bee was trying to kick off the prototype, Stinger, but with all the twisting in the air they were flicked around onto the back whilst I was dropped off, having to fly under my own power to stop myself from falling. "Hang on Bumblebee!" Making to go after him I had to make a steep dive in order to avoid enemy fire, cutting me off from Bumblebee as a group of them came at me. They leaped from various buildings and crashed into me, spiralling me out of control and my systems flared with warnings as one of my thrusters was sent offline. "You bastards, get off me!" Ducking my head I flew at a building and skimmed the concrete wall, knocking off several of the prototypes before I crash landed on the ground. "Jesus, that's the second time today. I'm getting real pissed off."

"Hey! Hey! Over here!"

"Shane?" Picking myself up I nonchalantly walked away whilst aiming my guns at the two remaining prototypes and shot them both twice in the head. "Tessa? Well at least you guys are all still in one piece. That's good." Looking past them I noticed Joyce cowering with them along with a blonde woman I didn't recognise whilst Cade was busy using some kind of Cybertronian weapon to shoot. "It's _you_."

"Hi there." Joyce greeted nervously, swallowing and I watched the apple of his throat bob precariously. Growling under my breath I was about to give him a few choice words and insults when Tessa screamed at me in warning, gripping onto Shane and retreating further inside as a foot slammed against my face. I was ripped backwards and I struck the ground, feet flying over my head until I planted them into the ground and righted myself. The robot I looked at was different from the rest, with a slender body and shape typical of a woman to have, the intense purple colour of its armour standing out with neon green streaks. "Oh uh, that's the version of you we recreated, Striker, be careful it's meant to be a hand to hand specialist!"

"You are so dead when I get my hands on you. You rebuilt me?!" Deciding that hiding was a better idea, Joyce disappeared under the table as I rose back up and armed myself. Striker moved faster than I anticipated and I had to quickly block the fist and before I knew it, I was fighting just to keep pace. Striker was fast, as the name implied, and she was indeed very good at hand to hand combat. She was up close and personal, moving past all my defences so that every time I tried to use my guns and cannons she avoided or redirected them away from her. "Goddamn it you son of a bitch, just die already!" Losing my temper I dropped all weapons and went at this old school.

Everything Jazz had ever taught me rolled through my mind as I fought, using my surroundings to help gain any advantage but still, Striker had the edge. A hard kick went straight to my gut, doubling me over before an uppercut to the face broke apart my helm, ripping off pieces which then scattered upon the floor as I landed on my back. "Get up! You gotta get up!" Tessa was screaming at me so I shook myself off and kicked directly upwards, finally hitting Striker and I launched her backwards, sweeping back onto my feet.

"Nobody upgrades me, I'm the best me there is. Period." Muttering darkly under my breath I went for round two and this time, I had all her attack patterns and sequences analysed. My processor factored the information into my response systems and I started to pre-empt her attacks and counter them more effectively. When a punch sequence came at me I ducked and spun into her, grabbing her arm and flipped her over my head and planted my foot against the shoulder, twisting and completely ripping off the arm.

Striker made a strange gurgling sound, spitting at me in Cybertronian as she rolled away from me then launched back onto her feet, coming at me with her feet in various kicks and strikes so I lead her forwards a few steps, avoiding her blows before I caught her leg against my side and rammed my entire arm down against the knee joint, smashing it completely and again she yelled in pain. Now immobilised, I finished off the job by punching through her chest, my fist searching for a spark but found nothing but more machinery. They weren't even complete Cybertronians. Undeterred, I ripped my arm back out as bright sparks flashed before me and with a twist and rip, I pulled off the head. "Punk ass bitch."

"That was awesome. That was very extremely awesome." Joyce whispered as I advanced forwards, shooting down more of the prototypes whilst trying to fix my offline thruster. It whirred and spluttered before finally sparking into life, allowing me to rise up into the air where I scanned the outlay and marked every enemy and ally position. I shot from above, flying through the sky before transforming fully into my jet mode and streaked forwards, banking low and turning on my side so that my wings sliced through several of the prototypes, taking them out before they could pin down Drift and Crosshairs and as I sped past them, I heard them whistle in awe. I'll admit, I felt pretty kickass.

I flew higher, trying to get above the city however missiles and bullets came after me and I wanted to get clear of their range, turning and banking to avoid being hit, however when my previously damaged thruster started to give out again, I lost control of my flight pattern and two of the missiles impacted against me. They blew me upwards at first and I transformed, flailing my arms with a loud, shameless scream before I started to fall. Twisting my body I pointed my feet downwards, trying to angle for a building I could crash into and use it to slow my descent.

A sudden prehistoric sounding cry filled my ears and my head twisted at the moment a pair of claws snatched my arms and carried my through the air. "Bee! Oh thank goodness, I thought I was road kill." I breathed heavily with relief as he leaned over and gave me a thumb's up, however our relief was short lived as a mass onslaught came out of nowhere and shot us down, making us crash land, what is that, the third time for me? I hardly knew which way was up and which was down, however when I felt Bumblebee's arms curl around me and his body softened the blow, I felt incredible safe and somewhat…peaceful. He was warm to the touch and even as we collided with the dirt, he gripped the back of my head with his hand and drew me into his neck, shielding me as much as he could until we came to a rolling stop, his arms flinging outward and I was propelled away from him but not too far.

"Bumblebee, pteranodon…are you both okay?" I coughed up some dirt I'd swallowed, shaking the buzzing sensation from my head until without warning, another round of fire came. Alarm seized me however Bee was already up and moving and he grabbed me into his arms without even pausing, scooping me up and leaped for cover as I clung to him. Tenderly he put me down, briefly brushing his hand against my face to make sure I was alright before his warrior mask slid down over his entire face and he returned fire. Not wanting to be outdone, I searched through my inventory before opening my palms and from within my arm bracers emerged two handheld pods with a glowing red core. "You might want to cover your ears." I warned before launching them both and swiftly ducked down, pulling Bee with me and our arms encircled one another, though we both peeked over our barricade curiously.

The cores flashed upon impact with the metallic bodies of the prototypes, making them blink and try to shake them off however a few seconds later, both grenades exploded and sent an electromagnetic pulse which completely friend their systems, making them convulse as the huge boom burst with white and passed through every prototype in a fifty metre radius, locking onto their signatures and sent them all crashing to the ground. As the high pitched ringing died away, Bumblebee whistled.

" _Maybe next time…start with the big guns._ "

"Those were my only two and they weren't field tested. Figured it was worth a shot." I told him as I dusted myself off. "Come on, let's go find out who else survived."

" _Right behind you._ " The pteranodon flew overhead, already back in the air as Bumblebee and I emerged from a pillar of smoke and approached the others, all of whom were intact and still breathing. I couldn't ask for more, really.

"We'll lead you out of the city. Get that Seed safely to the hills." Optimus was ordering and Bumblebee groaned quietly.

" _Sometimes it feels like the work's never done._ "

"I hear you big guy." I agreed before transforming into my car form, checking everything was still functioning and thankfully, everything but my flight tech had been left undamaged. Guess I won't be flying for a while. We grouped together to surround Joyce and the Seed, Shane driving the truck in order to take everyone in one car whilst leaving the rest of us free to defend them without having to worry about passengers. I was glad for the drive as it gave me time to re-enter myself and focus on the task at hand, which was getting that Seed away from Galvatron and the city.

I shouldn't have forgotten about Lockdown, however when his ship started to crawl across the harbour, sucking up everything metal in its wake, I must admit I was startled by his reappearance. Looks like we hadn't fooled him for as long as we had hoped. The huge magnet sucked up all the metal it could, however when it was overladen, it dropped everything back down again. A storm of debris came thundering down upon us and I had to reverse my wheels to stop in time as a crater came crashing down in front of me, forcing me to back up and as I did I transformed, spiralling with a kick to knock aside a giant sheet of metal away from Optimus and Bumblebee as the three of us ran in front of the truck as it reversed.

"Get cover!" Optimus ordered them as a torrent of water crashed over us, knocking him down and I called out his name before I became swept up in it too, sliding over the ground and struggling for a moment until Optimus grabbed my hand and pulled me free. "Autobots, fall back!" He practically hauled me up onto my feet and dragged me with him as we ran to get out of range of Lockdown's magnet, seeing as we would be the first to go up if we were sucked into its magnetic pull. "Steady, you're injured." His voice softening a little, Optimus fixed his arm a little more securely around me, helping me to run.

"Only my wing, I'm fine. Don't worry so much." I told him warmly, giving a brief smile as we raced further into the city. Bumblebee had been grabbed by the pteranodon and he whistled sharply to call out, waving to signal he was alright and I lifted my hand in response, everyone regrouping together. "Where's Cade and the others?"

"They'll be here soon, we must get that Seed as far away from the city as we can otherwise Lockdown will not stop until he has destroyed it all in order to catch me." A flare of defensiveness made my eyes narrow and turn my gaze upon the ship, silently daring Lockdown to try and take Optimus away a second time and my emotions must have reached Optimus because he chuckled richly and patted my shoulder. "Do not fear, he shall not be so lucky this time."

"Good. Otherwise I'd have to kick both your butts just for good measure." I answered, waiting patiently until finally Cade, Joyce and the others ran towards us. Sensing incoming danger I activated my defence mode and the two large shield pieces shot out from my arms and I barred them together, locking them in place before gripping on and racing forwards to where Bumblebee had landed. Gracefully leaping over him I sprung into the air with enough height to slam my shield into one of Lockdown's attacker ships and crunched the frontal gun as well as throwing it completely off course, grabbing on and used all the strength in my arm to tear it down and blasted through it as well as its pilot to make sure it was offline. "Bee! Bumblebee, you hurt?"

" _Man that hurt…how many times…do I have to get…my ass whooped…in one day?_ " He questioned me with a moaning sound, rubbing his head so I put away my shield and reached out to him but before my hand had even touched him, I felt myself beginning to lift off the ground. _"Holy crap!"_

"Bee!" Grabbing onto my arm Bumblebee pulled me back down and together we rushed away from the ship which was moving to situate itself overhead, both of us transforming and driving away from the chance of getting sucked up into that magnet but it chased after us and as it began to pull at us and our tyres screeched, blackening the ground as we accelerated side by side, smoke gleaning from the wheels as our rear ends stated to lift up and we fought desperately, putting all power into spinning the front wheels until suddenly the magnet blew up and we were dropped. Initially we shot forwards but quickly slammed on the brakes, skimming around with black tyre lines underneath us from where we'd burned the pavement.

Optimus and the Dinobots crashed back to the earth, the ground being torn up immeasurably as Cade and the others ran towards us to outrun being crushed by one of the Dinobots. I was glad to see that Optimus was unhurt as he picked up his shield and directed his voice towards us. "Autobots, get this bomb over the bridge and out of the city!"

"I got it! I'm getting this bomb out of here!" Joyce yelled frantically as he dragged the Seed in its leather bag towards Drift, getting in and dragging it after him as Cade, Shane and Tessa all went straight to Bumblebee.

"It's you and me now!" Wait what? What does that moron think he's doing?! Alarmed and increasingly afraid that Optimus was going to get himself killed, I watched as he streaked away towards where Lockdown's ship was moving, intending to face him alone. Oh no you don't you stubborn metal head, you are not playing the solo hero act this time. That card always gets you hurt or worse, killed. With a screech of my tyres I shot forwards and followed after him, ignoring everyone else's yells and streaked after Optimus.

By the time I reached him, he and Lockdown were already fighting one another and from an initial glance, it seems like Lockdown was the better fighter though Optimus was still able to match him. I glided forwards, sliding over the dirt as I analysed Lockdown's patterns and movements, absorbing everything into my database before lunging forwards with a roll, taking the low ground as I opened up my hand and pulled free my sword and my cannon appeared in the other, resting at the top of my wrist so I fired first, knocking Lockdown off balance before he could slice into Optimus's shoulder whilst he was on the ground. "Helen! Get out of here, this is no place for you!"

"Don't talk stupid." I answered him back as I sent a flurry of kicks and strikes at Lockdown and fired again, forcing him to spring back out of the way. "This is my fight as much as yours. He destroyed Ratchet and he murdered Jazz right in front of me. I'm not leaving here until I've ripped him to pieces." My deadly voice left no room for negotiation, mask sliding across my lower face and the plates shifting to layer more of my helm to frame my face and follow the lines of my cheekbones and my sword lengthened in size, growing finer and more deadly. "Let me earn the name Prime, let me try." Optimus looked at me in astonishment but could not stop me from charging forwards, even though he reached out and called for me to stop.

I knew not to underestimate Lockdown having skirmished with him before, but this time I was ready. I'm not the same clumsy human hybrid I used to be. These past five years have pushed me to become stronger, faster and more agile in order to survive. All my pent up rage and frustration was poured into my fight with Lockdown, the both of us dancing around one another and moving with viper like strikes so fast I was barely able to follow. Lockdown's face grew irate and increasingly furious as I continued to hold him off, landing a few blows and when my sword sliced into his side he snarled and tore himself back, grasping his injury and glaring at me with disgust. "Impure scum!" He spat at me and I denied him the pleasure of taking it personally, remaining focused entirely on him.

His eyes flickered to the side slightly and I paused, trying to think of what he was looking to but all too late, I realised. His gun arm raised he aimed directly for Optimus and I yelled out in warning, launching myself forwards and collided with Lockdown to throw off his aim. Both of us fell backwards but almost immediately he recovered and flung me away, shooting me down as I fell and Optimus thundered in outrage as I hit the dirt, wounded in one arm and at my ribs. Now brought back into the fight, Optimus swung his sword at Lockdown as I rolled onto my front, gripping my ribs as they leaked coolant and energon. That was when I noticed Attinger pointing a gun at Cade.

"Cade!" Optimus also spotted them, turning away briefly from his battle as Attinger spoke with an air of self importance, everything about him indicating a god complex and I hated him all the more for it.

"There are no good aliens! Or bad aliens, Yeager. It's just us and them, and you chose them." Rolling over the ground I lay on my back and aimed, firing as Optimus did the same and both of our blasts struck Attinger and launched him away from Cade who had been hiding behind part of a brick wall.

"Anytime." Struggling to get back up, I was overcome by dreaded terror as Optimus was slammed against one of the giant concrete cylinders with Lockdown looming over him. I scrambled and staggered to my feet, gripping at my side but forced myself to let go as I ran forwards with all speed to reach Optimus, firing at Lockdown however he effortlessly deflected them then drove Optimus's sword through his chest.

"NO!" My voice ripped through the air, feet crushing into the earth as I continued to power forwards with everything I had.

"You saved the human instead of saving yourself? You bring shame upon us all." Giving a furious cry I punched at Lockdown but he moved out of the way before I could make contact, forcing me to spin on my knees to face him again however this time when I used my sword he caught it by the hilt and clenched his fingers around mine, crushing them until I cried out in pain. He was pushing me back all the way into a solid wall which crunched behind me and with his own sword he stabbed it through my shoulder then wrenched it free again. "You are nothing but a half breed, a foul mixture of species that should not exist and I shall cleanse your existence from this universe."

"See, whether I live or die, it's not up to you, dickhead." I choked out through ragged breath as I tried to fight back but Lockdown had me completely incapacitated.

"No, Helen no! Leave my sparkling alone! LOCKDOWN!" Cade started shooting as Optimus bellowed desperately, but Lockdown merely fired a single shot at Cade, forcing him to take cover again whilst never breaking eye contact with me.

"Time to erase you, once and for all you miserable wretch." Without further warning, Lockdown ripped open my chest and the pain caused me to scream upon instinct to try and release some of it as it blazed openly like wildfire. Tearing through my armour and ripping open every protective layer I had, Lockdown grasped the cocoon that held my human body and ripped me free from it before stepping back and shooting me directly in the spark. There was this rushing sensation and a distant yell which echoed and I could feel each system and processor as it shut down, going permanently offline and I plunged into icy darkness only to awaken with a jolt in my human body which was being squeezed by Lockdown. I seized up, struggling to breathe as he glowered at me. "Now you die a second time."

"NO!" Optimus sounded so grief stricken that I couldn't help but look towards him, our eyes meeting and for a moment, I saw genuine fear in his face. Even when I tried to think and remember, I couldn't recall a single time I had seen or felt Optimus's fear but now there it was, an emotion he felt so strongly that it started to merge into my own body and the desperate thrumming of my heart increased as Lockdown started to crush me to death.

A blast struck Lockdown from behind, jerking him forwards and his grip on me slackened momentarily and with a gasp, I heard an engine that I recognised instantly. Bumblebee fired at Lockdown as Cade continued to pelt him with blasts and once Bee reached his target, he kicked Lockdown with so much force that I was completely torn from his grip and I sailed through the air. "BUMBLEBEE!" Summersaulting several times Bumblebee launched himself forwards and caught me inches off the ground but quickly put me aside, standing in front of me as he took on Lockdown.

"Cade, get out of here! This is my fight!" Optimus ordered, still struggling with the sword lodged in his chest so as I was running for cover, my eyes landed on a tow truck that stood abandoned nearby.

"It's my fight, and you're all gonna die!" Lockdown corrected furiously as he flung Bumblebee to the ground. My mind made up, I raced forwards, heading straight for Shane and Tessa who were making for a safe place to hide and when I caught up to them I grabbed their waists.

"Duck down and follow me!" Guiding them to safety I made them both crouch down. "You stay here, understand me? Only move if something big and heavy comes flying at you." I instructed them as I hid with them. "Now I'm going to transfer my consciousness to that truck over there, so Shane if we have to move I'm going to need you to move my body, okay? If this body dies, everything is over for me. Understood?"

"Yes, yes, understood I got it." He nodded, a little flustered but I was satisfied that I was in decent enough hands. Laying back I closed my eyes and connected to the tow truck, seeing darkness for a brief few moments before all at once I started to bulk outwards, shifting and rising up onto my feet until I stood as a much taller transformer. Shifting my feet to widen my stance I lifted my arm and whirled one of the hook up into the air like a lasso to then fling it forwards. It latched onto Lockdown and with my newly increased strength I wrenched him backwards so that he slid along the ground towards me and I started to run, going as fast as this heavy body could go before I rammed my foot into his head like I were kicking a football.

"Tear _me_ apart you asshole? Ratchet and Que spent months building that body for me, you punk scrapheap! Rusting piece of garbage! I'll kill you!" Punching downwards I landed a heavy blow to Lockdown's sternum, dealing plenty of damage to occupy him with as I launched the other hook and lashed it around the sword that pinned down Optimus, yelling as I tore it free and as it came shooting towards me, my fingers curled around the hilt and as Lockdown staggered to his feet I swung it with so much might and hate filled rage that it cleaved straight through him from shoulder to hip, slicing through his spark. Breathing through my mask my narrowed gaze darkened, swiftly changing grips on the sword so that as Lockdown fell to the ground I stabbed the tip downwards and buried it into his head, making sure he was dead for good. "Impure scum? Tell that to my sword lodged in your head."

Pulling the weapon free I turned away and folded back down, driving to where the remains of my body rested and cast out the hooks to drag each piece onto the back of the tow truck before then latching them down. Once this was done I allowed myself to return to my human body and with a rush I gasped for air, finding that I was trembling and shaking all over but Tessa and Shane were there and they gripped onto my shoulders, reassuring me I was safe and that it was over so I relaxed.

"Hurry! I'm setting off Lockdown's grenade!" Optimus called to us all so I launched myself to my feet and pulled Shane and Tessa up with me, directing them towards Optimus and ran for the truck, leaping into the seat and hit the gas to speed out of there with my remains. I refused to leave them behind, not when I know I can rebuild it. "Hold tight!" I heard Optimus say before he rose up into the sky with Cade, Tessa and Shane. Moments later as the area flooded with the prototypes, the grenade blasted the entire area with a chain explosion which consumed any within its blast range. I was glad to be out of that one.

The truck wasn't as fast in comparison to what I was used to but the throaty feel of the engine was somewhat of a comfort as I drove back to the harbour where the rest of the Autobots were gathered. Along the way I thumbed Jazz's cog piece and Ratchet's optic ring, hoping that wherever they were, if there was an afterlife for Autobots and transformers, that they were at peace. I didn't feel any different for killing Lockdown, not even a little bit sated and the grief was still there, but I didn't feel as guilty anymore. It was something, at least.

Allowing me to go on through I pulled to a stop near to the others then dropped down from the truck, walking in my heels towards everyone else as Optimus set the Dinobots loose. "Brave warriors, you are free!"

"I'll ride with you anytime, Spike!" Crosshairs waved to as they all left, racing into the treeline and I could not even begin to imagine the kind of terror and commotion they are going to cause if left unchecked. Oh well, I can always round them up later.

"Sparkling, I am relieved you are alright." Optimus said to me as he knelt down, offering me his hand which I promptly perched myself upon so that he could lift me up towards his face. "What you did was foolish, but I know you did it for me. You truly have the makings of a great Prime." His words meant more to me than I could ever say and he could feel that through our link which still burned strongly between us, untouched and undamaged.

"It wasn't my real body he destroyed, so I'm still here. I'm not sorry I disobeyed you, because I think you depend on yourself a little too much sometimes. You're not alone anymore Optimus, and you will definitely never get rid of me so easily." Nodding his head in acceptance Optimus leaned his head down and I smiled, resting my forehead against his. "I love you, with all my spark." Remaining silent for a moment, Optimus glanced down to everyone who was intently watching us before looking back at me, a little awkward at first before he leaned in a little closer.

"And I love you, little one, with all my heart." Overjoyed and completely elated, I felt all grief, sorrow and pain being chased away from me in that moment. It would not go away forever, but somehow it felt less like a burden than before and as Optimus carefully set me back down on the ground, he touched his finger to my cheek tenderly one last time before rising up once again. "This Seed belongs to our creators, whoever they are. There remains a price on my head. I endanger you all if I stay." He announced before reaching down and taking the Seed. "I shall take it where it can never be found." The previous light that I had felt begin to dim slightly but I fought to hold onto it, lifting my head and refusing to waver even when facing the knowledge that Optimus was leaving.

"Will we ever see you again?" Cade asked, looking rather disappointed that Optimus was leaving us.

"Cade Yeager, I do not know." My only real father figure answered honestly, but then he directed his hand up towards the sky, pointing to the stars which were beginning to flicker into existence. "But whenever you look to the stars, think of one of them as my soul. Defend this family, Autobots, as they have you. Defend all they can be." Those were his last instructions to us before he soared off into the sky, soon enough becoming nothing but a white trail and a speck of light until that too disappeared.

"So…what now?" Shane asked and everyone glanced to one another before collectively turning towards me. For a moment I stiffened under the gazes of so many expectant eyes until I settled, looking back up to the sky before smiling.

"We go home."


	35. Chapter 35

After Hong Kong's battle, I had returned to the alien spacecraft and fixed it from the damage it had received by crashing and loaded everybody back on it, including my trashed alternate form. It was going to take some work but I was confident I could get it fixed and Cade had already expressed interest in helping. Maybe I could even think about upgrading it somehow. Since my human body wasn't big enough to pilot the ship I took one of KSI's company cars and transferred into it, allowing me to fly the ship comfortably. The difficult part had been trying to persuade the Dinobots that they needed to come back with us and for a long time they refused, however after an airstrike came to try and take them down, I managed to earn their trust after protecting them from being blown up. They were now in the back with the others, though they were resting peacefully and quietly.

Seeing as Tessa and Shane were exhausted, I had made a little area in the cockpit with me where they could sleep on some blankets and recover from the events that had rocked their entire worlds, Cade also bowing his head and catching a few winks whilst in the back, the guys were kicking up a fuss as flew us over China.

"Well I think _I_ should be in charge. It's about time things were shaken up around here." Crosshairs was saying with the others all arguing.

"That would be a disaster, you do not know what it takes to be a leader." Drift informed him as he perched up high and sharpened his swords. "You would be little better than that child over there." He continued with a gesture towards Bumblebee who made a few incredulous noises with his radio before speaking.

 _"You looking at me? Huh? You looking at me?! I'm about to kick your ass."_

"Nobody's in charge, we're just waiting until the boss gets back so quite yer yapping before I bust a cap in your ass." Hound ordered them as he slouched back and relaxed with a brand new cigar in his mouth.

"But until Prime gets back, somebody's gotta take control and I vote me." Crosshairs proclaimed rather proudly and the argument got even more heated until eventually fists started to be traded and they all started to throw one another about, shouting and yelling whilst I tried to steer the ship.

"Alright you guys pack it in!" I yelled, twisting in my seat as I continued to pilot. "Don't make me come back there, if I have to let go of these controllers I'm going to use your parts to fix the rest of this ship and so help me, I will toss the next person who decides that they're going to be leader overboard! Seriously, even the Dinobots are behaving better than you." In response the tyrannosaurus gave a wide mouthed yawn, exposing the dagger like teeth. A welcome silence ensued so I nodded my head in satisfaction and turned around to face the skies once more.

"Well I guess that settles that question." Hound muttered with a sly little chuckle to himself and I rolled my eyes, choosing to ignore him. Of course we couldn't exactly go back home or to the Yeager's house because the government was now clamping down even more on the Autobots, declaring transformers to be illegal. On the flight home I made contact with Sideswipe and gave him instructions to stay low to the ground until I could get to them. There were too many of us to hide and the only thing I can think of was actually getting everyone off the planet. At least we have a spaceship now so it shouldn't be difficult, it's just a matter of where they were going to go. As the hours ticked by I ran schematics and diagnostics through my processors, gathering information on nearby planets and the closest one that would be suitable for the others to live on was Mars. I knew I wouldn't be able to follow them, Optimus had given us an order after all, but that didn't mean the others won't be able to get away to safety.

I have to make sure it's safe for them. There could be Decepticons prowling all over that planet so I made plans to build myself a space probe, using the information and technology I had gathered from this very ship. _"You look like…you're thinking too much."_ Bumblebee said as he came on through to the cockpit and sat down with his back against the wall a little in front of me so that I could see him without needing to turn my head and look away from the skies.

"Optimus gave us orders to protect Cade but I have to think about your safety first." I told him softly, keeping my voice down so that only Bumblebee would hear me. "There are too many of us to hide forever and I can't take a chance of another one of you being hunted down and melted for scrap. I'm going to do everything I can to keep you guys from being hurt, even if that means that that you have to leave." Bumblebee looked at me in surprise before his face fell a little.

 _"But you wouldn't come with us."_ He didn't pose it as a question, like he knew exactly what I was intending.

"I can't leave Cade, Optimus gave us an order so I'll carry it through, and also Megatron is still out there. I'm not leaving my world when I know that psycho is out there. This is still my world and I am going to fight for it, because despite all the crap its thrown at us over the years, I still love it." Tilting the ship slightly I looked out through the window where a beautiful landscape glided underneath it and Bumblebee stood up to look. "I just can't shake this feeling that this isn't over, so that's why I'll stay. Besides, I'm still partly human. I wouldn't survive in space or another planet without food and water." Lowering his head slightly Bumblebee's wings drooped. "Bee?"

 _"You're talking like…this is going to happen…real soon."_

"I don't know Bee, I just know that it's going to happen someday." Hurt flickered across his features and Bumblebee studied the ground, gaze wavering before he slowly walked away from me. "Bumblebee? Hey Bee, please don't…" When he did not stop or answer I faltered, a heavy crushing feeling clamping down on me and seemingly squeezing the life out of my body. For the rest of the journey Bumblebee didn't say a single thing to me and this distance he put between us started to really get to me.

When we approached the United States I activated the cloaking device to keep us shielded from the government and I constantly kept a running scan to stay away from aircraft and moved above the clouds where I could and did all I could to stay well out of sight until finally, I found a place where I could land the ship and conceal it from the humans. "Where are we? This place looks like a dump." Crosshairs noted, poking his foot at a pile of old appliances which had been tossed on top of one another but at Crosshair's prod, they all tumbled over.

"That is exactly what this is. Until further notice this is going to be where we live." I informed everyone as I emerged a human from the ship, dusting off my hands. "It's not ideal, but we'll be able to blend in better here and since Chicago is pissed all over again about that whole alien space ship thing, it's better if we just cease contact completely with the outside world." Behind me the Dinobots slowly stepped off the ship, their heavy bodies shaking the ground and the huge talons crunched into the dirt. "Make yourselves at home, just don't go wandering too far." I said to them before beginning to walk forwards and climb up a stack of cars, carefully hiking the mountain of metal.

"Be careful! That thing looks like it's going to go over any second!" Cade called up to me as Tessa and Shane began to look around, Shane particular trying to find any salvageable cars.

"I'll be fine." I waved him off, pulling myself up and being careful of my precious shoes until finally I stood on the highest car's roof, turning a circle to look at the seemingly endless rows of scrap. "See? Completely fine." As I stood there the entire pile wobbled slightly but I maintained balance, waiting until it was settled before returning to gazing towards the sunset. The sky was a dusty pink colour, the sun turning blood orange the lower it sank. The Dinobots roared loudly as they stampeded around the place, tearing through great stacks and causing general mayhem. I'll have to try and teach them to be a little more careful.

There was just so much to do, mostly things that I needed to build. Perimeter markers and a surveillance system to start with as well as that space probe and my own body needed desperate attention. Another thing to think about was Tessa and Shade. They had their whole life ahead of them, there was no way they could stay here. Tessa needed to go to college and Shane had his life on track until this point. For the moment, the least we can do is help them return to somewhat ordinary lives.

"So how did you know about this place?" Cade asked me, starting to try and climb up to join me but when the mountain started to tremble he froze in place.

"Because I own it." I answered him simply, turning around and started to descend. "Right after Chicago, I used my entire life savings buying up plots of land and properties all over America and Canada under a false identity just to try and ensure that we always had a place to run to." Sliding down a car door I dropped down next to him, swinging across and holding out my arm for him to grip onto as he unsteadily started to climb back down.

"Wait, you own this dump?"

"Yes, I buy all my properties in cash so there's no paper trail. Officially, Helen Clarkson hasn't actually been seen on the grid for five years now. Ever since I sided with the Autobots I've been a fugitive, which is why I'm going to help you guys as much as I can. If you want to leave, that's okay. We'll keep an eye on you from a distance, but it's likely the government won't stop coming after you, maybe even use you to try and get to us." Leaning over the edge Cade dropped down to the ground then assisted me, making sure I didn't fall as I nimbly scampered down.

"Will they go after Tessa?"

"Not likely. She's a minor, therefore the government won't see her as a threat. With Joyce on our side, I think we can manoeuvre a legal case to allow her to walk free. She can go to college like she wants and graduate. We have a window, but we'll have to move now." Cade looked weighed down with the harsh reality of the situation so I sympathetically placed my hand on his shoulder as we walked. "Don't worry. You can still go see Tessa graduate high school. With the Chinese government in uproar against the CIA's involvement with what happened, they'll be too busy to worry about you just yet. Joyce will keep them busy and I might be able to do something about Tessa's college tuition." Giving him a smile I jerked my chin towards her. "How would you like her to go to Princeton?"

"Princeton?! As in, Princeton?" Spluttering at my suggestion, Cade just stared at me. "That's an Ivy League school, there's no way I can ever afford that."

"You won't have to. I'm a longstanding graduate from Princeton and my family have gone there for generations which means we're alumni, so the Dean will accept a letter of recommendation from me and as for money, my family is rich and I inherited from both my grandparents when they died and I've had access to that money ever since I was eighteen, there were shares for around six point four million as well as the family money and when I went on the run, I withdrew everything. She can have what she needs for college and a little more to set herself up. She's earned it."

"Wha…that's…oh my god that's incredible!" Suddenly Cade was hugging me with such enthusiasm that he lifted me off the ground. "Thank you, thank you so much, you have no idea how much that means to us, what it's going to mean for her. All I ever wanted was for her to have a good start in life, this is…I can't believe it." Grinning from ear to ear Cade hugged me again as I blinked before relaxing and gently patting his back.

"If she were anyone else I wouldn't be offering this, but from what I've seen Tessa seems mature and more than capable of managing finances, however if I find out she's spending everything on party and alcohol then I will stop her funding immediately."

"Understandable, totally understandable and there's no way she will. She's way too sensible for that." Cade said with utter certainty however I smiled to myself. Any teenaged girl with a pocket full of cash was going to buy booze and get wasted, it was just what they did so I knew Tessa wouldn't be completely different, but I was certain she would be sensible enough. As Cade went to go give Tessa the good news I walked on ahead towards the little shack where when I pushed the door open, a wall of dust met me.

Waving my hand in front of my face I glanced around, everything looking pretty bare and nondescript, however I knowingly walked over to the corner of the room, pulled up one of the floorboards and retrieved the photo frames I had tucked away. With a distant smile I blew the dust off each one, the vibrant colours coming alive before I started to lay them out on the desk, rooting around until I found some matches and lit the candles that were already standing there before sitting down in the old swivel chair which groaned underneath me.

Faces smiled at me, caught in a memory that was long since passed. In my hands I held a picture of Sam, Michaela, Myself and Bumblebee in his car form, Sam's arms around Michaela as they leaned back against Bee whilst I sat cross legged on the roof with crazy colours in my crimped hair. I can't even remember where we were then or what we were doing but it was the gateway to a multitude of other memories so as I set it up upon the desk, my eyes turned to the others. There were a fair few of myself and Jazz in both his forms, one of them with him holding bunny ears over my head. I had pictures of all the Autobots here, in a place so remote that I allowed myself to feel comfortable that they would not be discovered. Moving around so often, I had very few possessions anymore. I'd let go of almost all of my clothes and shoes and I cannot tell you how much that physically hurt to donate them. It had felt like I was giving away part of my identity and at the time, it seemed fitting as I was after all trying to hide from the law and my real identity could never be discovered.

"What's that?" Tessa asked me as she stepped inside for a look around. "Are those…?"

"Yeah. A lot of them are gone now." I said to her, picking up one photo of the entire original team at the foundation of NEST, the Autobots transformed with Lennox, Epps and some other familiar faces along with Sam and myself, though I was perched on Jazz's shoulder and grinning from ear to ear. "This was taken when I was around your age, when I first met the Autobots."

"Wow, you liked colour." She smiled at the photo, studying it closely and her hand drifted up to the pink streak in her hair. "A lot of it and your clothes are really awesome."

"I spent my entire teenage life building up a huge collection of clothes. Everything that ever existed, I had it, from vintage to gothic to steampunk. When I was a high school kid, I never went anywhere without at least six different colours and plenty of glitter, usually on my face." Giving a laugh Tessa sat down on the dust ridden sofa to listen. "And my shoes, oh my shoes, I had hundreds of pairs. The higher the better and I loved platforms, you know like the ones ABBA wore? Loved them."

"That's amazing. I don't think I could ever be so outspoken like that, I'm not that wild." Glancing across to her I smiled at her gently.

"No, but you are tough as nails and that's not a bad thing. Listen to me Tess, things are going to get harder from here on out and nothing is going to stop that." Leaning over my knees a little so that I could speak with her with utter seriousness, Tessa leaned in closer to listen to me carefully. "In all likeliness your dad is going to have to become a fugitive like me otherwise they're never going to let him go, but you have a shot at a normal life and I want you take it. Trust me, you won't like this life. I had to give up everything in order to protect the Autobots and myself, everything I was working towards, everything I wanted to achieve, I dedicated my life to them. Tessa, is ever you were going to listen to adult advice, I want you to consider mine right now." Reaching out I took her hand to grip it firmly but warmly, trying to get my point across. "Take this chance to get out whilst you still can. Grow up, be normal, have a life. A real life. For a girl like you, you deserve only the best."

"I'll have to leave my dad. I can't do that I can't leave him, he can't take care of himself."

"Tess, Tessa." I stopped her there, lifting my eyebrows and turning my head slightly to regard her as she bit down on her lip. "You leave your dad to me. Hey, I'm in charge of a whole bunch of Autobots as well as those Dinobots out there. What's one more human? Don't worry about him Tessa, it's time you start doing things for you now. I know it's not my place to say, but I think your mom would want you to put your life first." Tessa blinked at me before looking away to think, frowning ever so slightly.

"I know my dad said that you were going to pay for me to go to college, but I don't want to take something I didn't earn. It won't feel right." She told me quietly, still puzzling things over so with a chuckle I leaned back in my chair which creaked threateningly.

"Don't worry about that, money isn't a problem for me since I have plenty of it saved up. Right now it's just sitting there so I'd rather put it to good use and after everything you've been through, and I'm not just talking about the Autobot war mind, I think you deserve a leg up into the crazy world of adult life." Pausing for a second I pulled out a notepad and pen, scribbling on the paper but when no ink came out I tossed it into the trash and picked up a pencil instead, starting to crunch some numbers and Tessa leaned forwards with interest. Once I was done I double checked and checked again before I was satisfied. "Alright, this is what I'm going to do. Forty thousand a year will be paid for your tuition and if you decide to continue on for Masters, I shall fund this as well. In addition, you will receive this much for your accommodation and I'll arrange for you to receive eighty dollars a week for food and then there's also academic needs, such as books and paper, so this is to cover that…" I went through everything with Tessa, explaining to her how everything was going to work and we came to the agreement that if she wanted money to spend for personal or social reasons, she would earn it herself because I was not of a mind to fund her to go out drinking.

"Okay, I think I've got it." Tessa finally nodded her head after studying the numbers for a while. "Are you sure this isn't too much? You're looking at nearly two hundred thousand dollars."

"Trust me honey, that's nothing. I'm giving you that leg up into life like I said, so take it. It's not going to come around from someone else or even a second time, so you're stuck with me I'm afraid." I said to her teasingly however Tessa just smiled at me sweetly.

"That's not a bad thing." She's adorable. Way more adorable than I ever was at her age. By that point Cade and Shane came looking for us so I let Cade in on what our plans were and when asked, Shane told us what he was going to be doing. We stayed the night there before Bumblebee and Drift took them all back to Texas so that Tessa could graduate. Bumblebee still wasn't talking to me even when I tried to say goodbye, giving me the cold shoulder as I walked up to him.

"You still mad at me?" In response his car door flew open and smacked my leg, causing me to jump back and grasp it. "God damn son of a _bitch_!" That hurt a lot. "Agh, fine! Sulk if you want, I don't care." Shaking my head I growled to myself, limping slightly from where Bee had knocked my leg. At least everyone else wanted to say goodbye. Tessa gave me the biggest hug, thanking me again as she locked her arms around my neck.

"Are you sure you can't come to see me graduate? I'd like it if you were there."

"Oh Tess, I wish I could but I have to watch these guys. At the rate we're going, Grimlock will have eaten all the convertibles by the time you get home." Grimlock lifted his head at hearing his name, a cruiser with the roof rolled back clamped between his jaws. "Yes you, that's right. I'm talking about you. Put that car down, I won't tell you again! Drop it!" Snorting with annoyance Grimlock spat out the car then walked all over it. "Attitude." Rolling my eyes Tessa giggled as she stepped back. "But as to your request, I think there might be a way for me to watch. Here Cade, catch." Tossing him the spy drone that he'd used in China he caught it, turning it over and giving a single hoot of fake laughter at the thing. "I'll be watching."

"Great, I'll take what I can get." Tessa said as she stepped back and was replaced by Shane who shook my hand politely.

"You take care of yourself Shane, I'll be keeping an eye on your races." I promised him and he smiled, telling me to stay on my toes around all these robots. Cade clasped my arm first before giving me a hug, though it was quick and he promised to be back soon and as I waved them off, I felt content. Their lives may never be the same, but at least Tessa can go on as normal and one day, Cade might be able to return also. Right now though, it falls to me to try and keep everyone alive and safe.

I need a miracle.


	36. Chapter 36

I set up a workshop at the junkyard, though I had to share my time between each of my projects. The real problem was the fact that without my body, I couldn't fly to Sideswipe and the others. They were worried but I reassured them that I would do my best to fix my other body or think of another way, so for the meantime we communicated in secret and I kept a close eye on government channels and the radio to listen to what was going on in the outside world. A new government unit had been created, the Transformer Reaction Force, TRF for short, which specialised in finding Autobots and Decepticons in hiding and brought them down. It was all I could do to keep my other team away from them.

From what I knew, the TRF were beginning to close in on them, getting closer and closer so I had to get Brains to help me to hack into their servers from another city away from the junkyard to keep them off the trail. I was running out of time and soon, there wouldn't be any left. Hound was a great help with the repairs on the spaceship and within a month we had it fully functional once more. It didn't take me long to create some probes to send to Mars, but that was going to take even more time for them to get there, even with the Cybertronian enhanced technology. They would fly faster than any manmade space shuttle, rocket or probe they could ever make, so when I sent them up into the night sky and watch them join the stars, I prayed for positive results.

"You sure about this?" Hound asked me as I worked late into the night, setting up security scanners around the perimeter of the junkyard a few miles out just for safety's sake. If anyone we didn't recognise showed up, we'd know about it long before they got here. "Leaving Earth I mean."

"I'm sure. Optimus wouldn't want us risking our lives unnecessarily. Besides, we're not all going. You're too stubborn to leave and I think Crosshairs just wants to outmatch Drift, who says he is duty and honour bound to stay." I explained to him as I set another scanner pod on the ground, clamping it down so that it wouldn't be ripped away by the harsh winds. "It's all we can do and if Mars proves safe, I'll take the ship up to the northern team and let them take it. We'll remain in contact so if we end up rescuing anyone else afterwards, they can make the trip again. There's enough fuel in that ship to last them a good thousand years' worth of trips, so I'm not worried."

"Well I think it's the right decision, the boss would have probably done the same thing. Only thing is, have you thought about what they're going to do whilst they're out there? It's a pretty bleak place, can do things to the mind nobody should go through if you're left alone too long." Hound warned me, lifting me up onto his shoulder to walk me back once I'd set the last scanner.

"I know. I have thought about it. The ship itself has everything an Autobot will need to survive and Jolt will keep everyone from falling apart. They'll have resources and I'll make sure they have plenty of materials to build a home base whilst we wait for Optimus to come back. Once he's here…hopefully he'll know what to do next."

"Hm. The boss could be gone for a long time little lady. Thought about _that_?" As much as I appreciated Hound trying to help me think things through, the thought that I might never see Optimus again was something I did not want to consider.

"He'll come back." Was all I could think of to say and Hound took it to mean that I didn't want to discuss it further, which I didn't. As we got back something exploded with a crash and a huge burst of flames bloomed into life within the already dry air. At least it's never a dull moment here at Junkyard Heaven. "Grimlock! Slug! What did I say about eating the scrap? It's bad for your digestion and now you're coughing up parts that will rust your insides!" Leaping off of Hound's shoulder I grabbed onto the flagpole and expertly spiralled down it, landing on my feet and striding over to the Dinobots as they groaned and complained with whimpers, a green ooze leaking from their mouths as Scorn, the spinosaurus hiccupped before vomiting up an old model moped which he then began to lick. "Gross, will you…will you stop that? Come on guys, I know you're bored but there's really not much I can do about that." A loud squawk sounded from above before the pteranodon flew down and started to nibble and nip at my hair and head. "Strafe! Quit it! I am not a snack! I swear to god I will go macho on your asses and put you all in a time out box!"

The Dinobots were rather playful for being ancient knight warriors, so I theorised that they were actually of limited intelligence in comparison to the Autobots and even the Decepticons, as much as it pained me to admit it. They didn't speak and quiet honestly, some of the things they did were completely dumb, for example eating bad metal which made them ill. Yet they were affectionate, or at least, they were with me. They liked nothing better than when I would take the time to clean between their teeth and claws for them and clean into their crevasses where they couldn't reach and they showed their appreciation by nuzzling against me though seeing as they're giant dinosaur robots, I usually ended up on my ass.

"Okay, okay, I get it, I love you too now will you please stop eating me? One day you're going to swallow me by accident." I said to them as I smiled, tickling them under their chins as they all crowded in before I sent them towards some more recent scrap which they could chew on without getting indigestion. Returning back to my workstation I continued with my projects, receiving an update on one of my screens about the probes I'd sent up into space. At this moment I was working on my Autobot body which appeared like it was going to take a while to fix as it was completely devastated and the spark was ruined.

Joyce was actually the guy I turned to and we entered into a contract deal. He was a businessman after all, so in exchange for me giving him non-lethal technology for him to work with and develop to save his company from ruin, he gave me all remaining parts from the Autobots that Cemetery Wind had hunted down for him. He sent them to a warehouse in Chicago which I collected in a pickup truck, disguised of course, then returned with everything to the junkyard. It was a completely closed deal and there was no official record of it, however Joyce had trusted me to not back out of the deal and since I was not sharing in the profits, there was no reason for me to need documented proof of anything.

"Yo babe! What you working on?" Wheelie asked as he scooted on over then climbed up onto my table to check out what I was torching. Having wanted to check in on the others up north I had driven up there to go find them, staying a few days before coming back and it wasn't until I was halfway home did I realise that Wheelie had snuck into the back of the truck with me, so he ended up coming back with me. Turning off the flame I lifted my mask, not having heard him so he repeated the question.

"Oh, this? Well this is…this is Jazz's spark." I said to him, touching it like it was the most precious gem in the entire world. "There were still parts of him that they hadn't yet melted so…Joyce…gave him back along with the remains of our other friends. I feel bad about it, but I figure they wouldn't mind me using parts of them to rebuild my body over there and…well I just thought it was only right that I carry Jazz's spark with me."

"Yeah, I think they would like that. Especially Jazz. He always said you were his number one lady, always talked about you and made the big yellow guy jealous. Those two would clash heads more than a pair of goats in heat." Wheelie told me and I blanched slightly, disturbed by the imagery he painted in my head.

"Okay, I'm not even going to respond to that." I said, making to pull my mask down before stopping. "Wait, what did you say about Bumblebee?"

"The big guy? He and Jazz used to fight over you all the time, always about something you were doing and argued what was best for you, like when you considered moving away that time? Remember that? Almost destroyed the base they did."

"Jeez, I had no idea they were so bad." I mused before giving a melancholy smile. "Jazz always was overprotective when it came to me. God, I miss him so damn much." Feeling a rush of emotions I had to lean over and grip the table for support, sucking in a breath and holding it. Seeing my distress Wheelie moved closer and placed his hand on my back to comfort me.

"There now don't get all choked up. Why don't you go ahead and finish fixing yourself up otherwise you'll be stuck with using all those crappy cars outback that ain't good for crap." A laugh burst free and I felt a little better, thanking Wheelie for being here with me. He had told me that he didn't intend on leaving this planet unless I could go with everyone else, so had elected to stay if everyone else were to make the trip. I appreciated him thinking about me and not wanting to leave me alone, we'd come a long way since the beginning and with him and Brains back together, I relied on them to yell at people if I was too busy working to reprimand them.

Brains was busy manning the probe for me as well as working on some new weapons for Cade and myself whilst I'm stuck as a human, knowing full well that we will eventually get into a fight and I was not willing to go in empty handed. Returning to my work I welded Jazz's spark in place, tossing the old one into a box with the rest of the parts that had needed replacing. It was so cold and dead at the moment, however I knew that when I get the energon flowing once more and I transfer my consciousness, it will become warm and alive once again and it will be like having another part of Jazz with me.

Progress was slow but steady and I worked into the night, the floodlights turning on to give me a bright work area whilst the Autobots and Dinobots settled down. The others should be back any day now and usually that would make me feel excited and happy, however whenever I thought about Bumblebee I kept on remembering our last conversation. I don't know why he took it so bad, I thought he knew that I would never be able to leave with everyone else, as a human I wouldn't live long enough to even make it anywhere unless travelling at light speed and even then, there was things like radiation to consider. Gravity. Oxygen. Food. Water. All these things were rattling around in my head, telling me that I was stuck on Earth until I die, however that was also something I had been considering. How long would I live? Did the energon inside me act like an anti-aging agent?

Whenever I saw myself in the mirror I always noted that I still looked young. Not young as in girlish, I had long since grown to full maturity but at twenty six I had expected some lines or at least a few grey hairs but no, nothing. "Hey what you gonna do with all this stuff here?" Brains demanded to know, kicking at a box full of transformium metal which Joyce had given me as kind of a deal sweetener. It was, as I called it, organic, as it was the ore that they had mined from the ground and not stolen from other transformers, so I had accepted it.

"I'm not sure. I was thinking of maybe making some protective gear with it or something along those lines since there isn't much of it. Don't touch it though, it's extremely rare and valuable so if I catch you digging around in there chewing on everything I will be extremely angry." I warned him so he promised he wouldn't though I knew that he was looking at it with hungry eyes and chomping at the mouth so I grabbed some iron and tossed it to him, making him whoop before he sat down on his haunch and munched through it. "How's your leg holding up?"

"Good as new, can't even tell it was once detached." Brains assured me as I went over and inspected it closely, picking up a screwdriver to tighten up a screw which was coming loose. "Ooh yeah, that feels better. Much better."

"Glad it's working for you Brains. Now go on, out of my workshop before you start eating my projects." I directed him, ushering him out of my shop before standing with my hands on my hips, wiping the sweat from my brow. With the occasional burst of flames every now and then, the junkyard was actually starting to feel like home. Music was playing from the radio, softly echoing outwards with the string of lanterns glowing with as dusk settled with the fairy lights. Something I'd learned since finding the Autobots. Home wasn't a place or a house, it was people. It was the people whom you loved most. They were home, and home was where I was.


	37. Chapter 37

When my security systems alerted me to something approaching the junkyard I immediately went to the screen, bringing up the snapshot the surveillance had captured and relaxed into a smile. "Hey guys! Guess who's back?!" I yelled out to the others, cupping my hands around my mouth to make my voice carry and suddenly there was life.

"About time, maybe things will start to get interesting around here." Crosshairs mumbled as he crawled out of the little den he'd made for himself. "I've been reduced to counting birds as they fly across. This place stinks." Complaining as usually I waved a dismissive hand at Crosshairs, ignoring him for the most part as I moved through my workshop to move some stuff aside and of course found Brains trying to snack on bits of metal.

"Brains! How many…STOP EATING MY PROJECTS AND MY TOOLS!" Quickly grabbing him I wrenched my screwdriver from his mouth only to find it completely bent. "You little…"

"Easy now, shouldn't pick on somebody smaller than yourself, especially not a helpless little 'bot like me." Brains told me as his wiry hair smoked and I growled, clenching my fist whilst desperately trying to refrain from punching him. In the end I turned around and threw Brains towards Wheelie, expertly landing him on the outside couch.

"Wheelie! Kick him for me."

"Gladly." Wheelie gave Brains a solid kick who yelled about foul play and that this was abuse but I ignored him. I swear to god, I am up to my ears in bored robots who are starting to really get my temper in a flare. Bumblebee and Drift drove up from the gate towards the shack, dust rising under their wheels before finally they transformed after Cade had got out, carrying a kit bag with him.

"See everything is still intact." He noted however no sooner had he spoken, Grimlock charged through a car stack and knocked it over, the metal creaking and moaning before the inevitable crash which made Cade flinch away from it instinctively whilst I just stood there with one hand holding my head.

"I feel like I'm mothering eight children all under the age of three, it's crazy around-Slug! Spit that out, spit that out right now! If you get stomach problems again I am not helping you, no way." Already it was chaos and it was not even midday yet. Hound had accidentally set charges everywhere by dropping them in his sleep as he rolled over so there was an entire area where we couldn't go unless we wanted to be blown sky high, however it seems like Scorn didn't understand me when I had said 'restricted' and had how set them all off, blasting him backwards into another stack pile which became knocked down and once he'd rolled back onto his feet, he had entire cars pinned onto his spikes. With a grim expression, I shook my head and clapped Cade on the shoulder. "Welcome back." And he looked oh so happy to be here.

"I am happy to report that there were no altercations, conflicts or engagements during our absence, sempai." Drift said to me as he gave a traditional bow to me. "We would have been back sooner, but _he_ wanted to circle back and hide because he thought we were being followed." With a rather irate tone Drift scowled at Bumblebee who flung up his hands with defensive attitude as his radio whirred.

 _"What? There were…tingles…shooting all up…my spine!"_

"It's okay, so long as you're all back safe, unharmed and nobody followed you, I'm happy with that." I cut the argument before it could escalate, using calming motions with my hands. "And Drift? Don't call me sempai, it's more than a little weird."

"But you are not quite a sensei." That was his logic? Okay fine, if it kept him happy then it doesn't really matter what he called me. Giving a shrug Drift jumped up into the air and summersaulted whilst drawing his blades and standing upon them to balance and meditate. I shall never understand how that kind of thing was even possible. Turning around I faced Bumblebee and tried to smile at him.

"Hey big guy, you're not still mad at me are you." Bumblebee rolled his head and eyes, giving a so-so motion with his hand which only made me smile more. "Well that's a little better than before. At least you're kind of talking to me. Do you at least want to talk about it? You can't continue being upset with me for being realistic forever, right?"

 _"Watch me."_ Bumblebee stated before walking past me. I stood there, completely stumped for a second before exhaling. Guess he needs a little more time. There was the sound of crunching behind me so I glanced back to see that Bumblebee had made himself comfortable on a car pile, leaning back and propping up one leg to make himself comfortable. Things didn't get any less crazy around here, if anything they just got worse. By the time Tessa had moved to Princeton for college, transformers were falling from the sky all across the world, both Decepticons and Autobots.

Knowing that I had to speed things up, I got into contact with Simmons and together, he and I arranged a system to take care of any Autobots we could locate and I mobilised the northern team to extract any Autobots I could get them to before TRF, however they were absolutely by no means permitted to engage without my say so. Simmons ended up moving to Cuba, the only place on earth where transformers were welcome to live in peace and harmony. Guess it was just Castro's way of giving the middle finger to the rest of the world and I privately applauded the guy for it.

My northern team were glad for something to finally do and I had them scatter into smaller groups as I launched another probe up into space however this one scanned for incoming objects from space, feeding me the information and Brains helped me to decipher if they were Autobot or Decepticon. In a way I almost felt guilty for not offering the Decepticons the same chance I was giving the Autobots, however considering their past grievances, I just could not risk my team on a mercy mission for someone who could very well stab us in the back later. I just couldn't. Soon enough I was directing all Autobots under my undisputed command, arranging each extraction and ach time we had a target, I would be kept in the loop via a visual feed. I had taken the spy drone technology from KSI and developed it into my own software with Cade's help, so that for each operation I could keep a close eye on what was happening as the camera was attached to the Autobots themselves, one in the front and one at the back with a one hundred eighty degree rotation circle so I could watch their backs for them.

Unfortunately we did not have as much success down here as my other teams did, but we kept on fighting back. I refused to allow this TRF to go around shooting down transformers no matter what their allegiance, especially when they were one of us in the first place. "Hey! Hey guys! We got something!" Brains was yelling and instantly I stopped what I was doing, quickly putting down my tools and jumping down from my huge Autobot body to run to the control station we had built up. Cade reached it the same moment I did and I was instantly scanning each screen.

"What we got? Another incomer?" I asked however Brains was busy tapping away at keys before jumping down into the seat and grabbing the joystick he'd hooked up to the monitor.

"Nope, but we got touchdown, the probes made it to the planet Mars and we're going live." Intrigued the others all crouched down to get a look at the screens as a hot looking and extremely dusty looking rocky plain. "Alright, let's go for a little ride."

"This is awesome, check it, I'm flying a probe!" Wheelie cheered as he too jumped down and took over one of the other probes, switching to manual.

"Alright guys, let's start scanning and see what we find." I instructed as I reached between them and started running the program, not taking my eyes off the screen for a single moment. Although Brains and Wheelie were enjoying taking the probes for a flight, banking left and right I had to sternly tell them to focus so that the probes could actually complete an accurate scan. "It'll be a few hours before we find anything so let's leave them do their job for now. Come on guys, I don't trust you enough to not mess around behind my back." Switching back to automatic flight I picked both little Autobots and made them go help Cade scavenge for spare parts. Glancing back at the screen, I hummed with amusement. "What Simmons wouldn't give to be watching this now."

Going into the shack I grabbed myself a drink, feeling drained from the day's work which was still not done. In my head I had an endless list of things that I needed to do and a second list with things that needed to be done after that, however as I sat down in the recliner, I enjoyed a peaceful few moments of relaxation with a cold beer to wet my throat with. Smiling I leaned back my head, intending to close my eyes and catch a few minutes to myself.

The entire shook with the sound of a boom and a roar which had me leaping out my chair, beer flying everywhere as I stumbled to the door and wrenched it open. Grimlock was going crazy, whipping his head back and forth and roaring with flames shooting into the sky, his massive tail sweeping through entire mountain piles which scattered them everywhere. "Hey!" I bellowed, waving my arms as the Autobots ran to get out of Grimlock's way as he charged.

"He's gone crazy, the solitude must have finally broke him!" Crosshairs called as he vaulted over an old truck and hid behind it. "I'm not going to be the one to tell him to calm down, don't quite fancy getting eaten."

 _"You're such a…little pussy…aren't you…punk?"_ Bumblebee said to him a little smugly as he crouched over Cade, protecting him from the fallen debris as Cade yelled.

"What the hell is going on here?! Why is the dinosaur stampeding?!"

"Maybe it ate something." Drift suggested and I gave an incredulous groan before bolting forwards.

"Hound! Drive him towards the gates!" I yelled, running up one of the cars and springing off the hood to continue racing forwards. "Herd him towards me!"

"Gotcha, locked and loaded! C'mere you prehistoric fossil, time for a rodeo!" Hound rumbled, tossing a grenade towards Grimlock and when it exploded he roared, digging in his claws to skid across the ground and change direction. "That's it big boy, come to daddy. I got something for yer, catch!" Twisting my head to see Grimlock get another grenade to the face he was pushed down the long stretch heading for the gate so I slid to a stop, feet gliding over the dry ground before anchoring my feet. Grimlock showed no sign of stopping and a I had a whole lot of robot dinosaur coming straight at me with bared teeth and rather impressively large claws.

"Stop it Grimlock." I ordered him, refusing to budge as he roared at me so I drew all the air into my body and put every ounce of authority I possessed into my voice as I thrust out my hand with my palm facing towards him. "I said _STOP_!" snorting in surprise Grimlock ripped back his head and scratched his claws into the earth, causing huge ditches until finally he came to a halt with the tip of his nose just brushing against my palm. Oh thank god for that, I thought he was going to step on me and break through the gate. "That's better, good boy." I softened, stroking his nose as I looked up into the bright red optics. "Now what got you all up in a bother like that? You've gone and wrecked the place again. I'm starting to think you do it on purpose just so I make you put everything back."

A dull thud sounded and I frowned, wondering what on earth it was so I looked behind Grimlock who blinked then turned his head as if he too was surprised. There on the ground was a metal egg. No, I'm not kidding. It really was an egg. It was smooth and silver with interlocking patterns and slates all perfectly fitted together. Grimlock grunted and twisted his head slightly. "That's a…that's…Grimlock that's a frigging egg! Why did you just lay an egg?! Are you a girl?!" Grimlock snorted at me in distaste, seemingly appalled by the suggestion so I flung my arms up in the air. "Don't get pissed at me, you're the one who just laid a mother freaking egg the size of a small child! Was that why you were going all deranged? _Labour_ pains?!" With another snort Grimlock turned around and picked up the egg between his teeth, stomping away. "Get back here mister-I mean lady-I mean…do I even want to know?!"

Chasing after Grimlock back to his den I stopped when I watched him put the egg down in a nest with three others with Slug, Strafe and Scorn all standing around the little nest they had built. For the longest time I just stared at the eggs as they all chirped, growled and squawked at me, wriggling and wagging their tails like golden retrievers or something. Eventually I simply resigned myself to accepting the fact that I would soon enough have baby Dinobots to take care of. "Okay. Sure. Why not? Why the hell not? Let's just hatch an entire army of little Dinobots. Sure. No problem at all…"

"Uh oh, I think she's finally lost it." Crosshairs said as everyone else came to check out what was going on. "Guess there's nothing for it, I'll have to take charge from now on. What's that thing they say in those movies? I call for a Vote of No Confidence!" He declared however Bumblebee thumped him on the head.

 _"The day you take over…is the day…I'll eat my own head."_ Bumblebee said to him with his hands at his waist, Crosshairs rubbing the spot Bee had hit him with a glare.

"Not a bad idea if I'm honest."

 _"That's it, you asked for it!"_ Suddenly those two were fighting one another, crashing and smashing into everything and Drift jumped in to try and separate them however when they both clobbered him, he too lost his temper and started fighting back just for the sake of it.

"You should probably do something, they're going to kill each other at this rate. Helen?" Cade prompted me but I was in such a tizzy that I could barely think straight. Making things _even_ worse, Hound came wading in and jumped on all three of them, using his rather sizeable rear to crush them before they rolled him off and started to grab the scrap cars and hit one another with them, breaking them apart and yelling insults and threats to one another. When a minivan crashed only a few feet away from Cade and I, I finally lost my temper.

"Will you all just SHUT UP?!" My thunderous voice made everyone freeze in place and look straight at me with fearful gazes as I rounded on them. "I am busting my _ass_ every day to keep you guys safe and hidden, working day and night trying to protect everyone from the TRF, the government, CIA and the military, yet you're all here fighting each other, trashing _my_ junkyard and you don't even have the decency to offer me some help but just make things worse? Screw you guys! If you're so bored here, then there are the gates. Feel free to leave, I'm not going to stop you. I have had _enough_ of your bullshit to last a lifetime. Sure, you might not like a human in charge in place of Optimus, but touch crap, I'm the best chance you have against an entire world full of humans who want to put a bullet through your heads, so pull your heads out of your asses and start _acting_ like a _team_ even if it goddamn kills you!" Now that I had got that out of the tank, I felt completely empty and washed out.

Unable to look anyone in the eye anymore I turned with my head held high and stormed away from them. Despite there being a fair walk back to the shack, both Wheelie and Brains were timid and quiet so I assumed that they had heard everything as I breezed past them into the shack and slammed the door shut behind me. Pacing back and forth I raked my hands through my hair, struggling against tears of frustration before I finally grabbed a beer from the fridge and took a large gulp. It didn't help much but at this point, I didn't care.

Feeling overwhelmed by everything and more pressure than should be mentally possible, I wanted nothing more than to have Jazz by my side. All I could do was grip onto my necklace as I curled up on the couch and cried as quietly as I could, needing to let everything out so that I could refresh myself and start clean. Actually, I ended up falling asleep right there, still clutching my necklace with the four rings.


	38. Chapter 38

"Helen? You in there?" Cade's voice stirred me from sleep and he swore quietly when he realised I had been asleep, trying to tiptoe away however I pushed myself upright and rubbed the sleep from my eyes.

"It's alright Cade, you can come in if you want to."

"Sorry, I wouldn't have…I mean, I didn't know you were asleep." He apologised, standing there awkwardly for a moment before going and getting himself a drink. "Wanna talk?" I gave a weak attempt at a laugh but failed, crossing my legs as I sat upright and pulled back my hair to tie it off into a ponytail.

"I think I said all I needed. Damn it, I haven't been that much of a bitch in a long time. Is everyone okay? I went a little overboard with my meltdown back there." I asked and Cade gave a grin as he swigged at his beer before shaking his head.

"Probably long overdue by the looks of it and don't worry about the guys. They're a little shaken up but they've all been quiet. Been tiptoeing around here like little mice, it's actually a little funny. They're more scared of you as a tiny human than a big ass Decepticon." That did tickle me a little and I managed a smile. Cade tossed me a can so I snapped it open and started on my second beer. The both of us relaxed for a little, just drinking and listening to the radio.

"The last time I did this, I was in college." I suddenly thought, pursing my lips curiously.

"What's that?"

"Social drinking." I explained for him, seeing as he was not privy to my thought pattern. "I can't even remember the last time I hung out with someone and had a beer or, even better, some shots. When I was in college, my best friend Sam and I would go out most weekends to one of the pups and play pool, drink cheap beer and nurse our hangovers in the morning. Those were the best nights." Reminiscing to myself I recalled all the times Sam had got absolutely trashed and I'd had to help him back to his room or I'd take him back to mine, depending on how far he could walk or how soon he needed to throw up.

"Sounds like you miss it."

"I guess a little. I mean after all, I'm still human. There are things that I do miss. Like the beach, the beach is my favourite place to be in the whole world. My guardian Jazz hated it because of the sand, but he'd always take me there whenever I asked him because he knew how happy it made me. I love the ocean, the smell of salt in the air, it's just the best place." Lifting my head I looked across to Cade who was smiling to himself. "What about you? What's your favourite place in the world?"

"Honestly?" Cade frowned for a second to think. "Never did much travelling. Had Tessa so young everything just seemed to fly by so fast, but there is this one place. I used to take Tessa fishing when she was younger and there was this lake on the other side of town. We'd go there sometimes and we'd sit for hours together with our rods and lines." As Cade's face slowly lit up as he talked about this place, I could tell just how much it meant to him. He told me about how he had used to make up all these great adventure stories about a father and his daughter who would save the world and enchanted lands from all sorts of danger. "She loved it. We didn't go back there much when she was older, and if we did she stopped fishing and just sat there with me, but I knew she was happy there. It was the one place where we didn't have to worry about anything and she wasn't mad at me about something."

"Sounds like a perfect place." I mused softly, trying to picture it in my head and came up with a beautiful shoreline of glistening blue water and the delicate reed stalks waving in the summery breeze and a wide endless sky overhead. "Tessa is a lucky girl having a dad like you. I hope she knows that."

"Well I can only hope. I messed up here and there but she turned out pretty darn great, so I must have done something right." Both of us now smiling we clinked our beers and saluted before drinking them. "What about your dad? Does he miss not seeing you?"

"No, my parents and I don't talk anymore." I said but before he could ask I quickly held up a hand. "Please don't, it's not a major sob story or anything, we just don't get along so we went our separate ways, end of story."

"Wow, I'm sorry." Shrugging a shoulder nonchalantly I drained the rest of my can before rising to my feet. "You know if you want to take the day off I can man the fort." Cade offered me as I took a step towards the door. "I know it seems like you have to take care of everything, but you can look to us for support where you need it. It's okay to need a break sometimes because no one expects you to be hands on twenty four seven, you'll just burn yourself out and that's not gonna help anybody, least of all you." He reasoned with me and he made some valid points.

"I appreciate it Cade, I'll keep your offer in mind." I said to him warmly before stepping back outside. The warm air rushed to greet me and the moment I emerged the Autobots all jumped instinctively, shying away from my presence in fear of me blowing up at them again but instead I approached them slowly as not to startle them. "Listen guys, I'm sorry about before. I shouldn't have lost my temper at you and I shouldn't have raised my voice. You deserve better than that." They all blinked and looked between one another, still looking a little nervous until Hound finally broke the silence with his deep bellied voice.

"Bah don't worry about it, sometimes we need a little shouting at to keep us in line. Right boys?" Turning a look on Drift and Crosshairs and cocked his gun to emphasise his tone.

"R-Right! We were getting out of hand, way out of hand." Crosshairs stuttered quickly, giving a quick smile as he rubbed the back of his head. "We shouldn't be fighting so much and wrecking your junk, sorry about that."

"It is we who are at fault. My deepest apologies sempai. If you need anything, do not hesitate to ask us for assistance. We are at your command." Drift knelt down with his sword and bowed his head in a rather grand gesture so I patted his hand reassuringly.

"There's no need for any of that. I know we're all a little cramped and tensions are running high, but I am working on getting you guys out of here. Just…try not to kill each other before I succeed, got it?" They all nodded their heads simultaneously and we all agreed to forget about this day entirely and continue on as usual. The only one who had remained quiet was Bumblebee, not saying a single word and not moving until the rest of us had reconciled, whereby he rose to his feet and walked away from us, not even glancing my way. "Bee. Bumblebee." Starting after him I tried to get his attention. "Bee come on, talk to me." When he continued walking, my temper snapped a little once more and it ran away before I could contain it. "For god's sake Bee this silent treatment and bad attitude gets old, will you please _stop_?"

Bumblebee froze in place, halting from his calm retreat and for a moment, I wondered what he was going to do. Folding down Bumblebee transformed into his car mode, engine purring quietly and his door opened itself up so I took it as an invitation to get in so we could talk. Striding forwards I cast myself into the seat rather forcefully and before the door had even fully closed Bumblebee roared forwards, lurching with so much force that I almost smacked my face on the wheel. "Dammit!" Cursing as I recovered, I folded my arms and glowered heatedly at Bumblebee as he streaked out of the junkyard and onto the road.

Neither of us spoke all the while he drove and the tension started to make my throat clam up and go dry no matter how much I tried to swallow it back. We drove for a fair distance until finally Bumblebee yanked himself to the side and flung open the door whilst skidding and I quickly jumped out of him, stumbling as I struggled for balance at being rather unceremoniously flung out the car. "What the hell is your problem Bumblebee? Just come out and say it already because I am not playing any games here!" Furious I turned on him as he transformed, pacing back and forth as I did the same. He'd brought us both way out into the rock plains, nothing for miles and miles except flat, barren looking earth and stones.

 _"My problem?...You think I…got a problem?...Why would I have a problem?"_ Bumblebee started to rant, using large hand motions as he paced back and forth whilst I halted and folded my arms to listen. _"You…drive me…crazy!...Sometimes I just don't know what to do with you."_

"Well sorry for apparently being such a huge pain in your ass, I'll try harder not to be from now on if it's such a major inconvenience." I quipped at him and Bumblebee snapped back with various mechanical sounds which sounded angry as he pointed at me then sliced out his hand, throwing his head backwards in frustration before kicking at a rock and sending it flying. Now if I'd kicked that thing, I would have broken my foot. "Bee…" Sighing slowly I relaxed my stance and allowed my voice to soften. "Are you upset because I talked about staying here on earth whilst the rest of you leave?" Bumblebee looked over his shoulder towards me briefly, not exactly making eye contact but he nodded. Well, at least now we were communicating. "Bumblebee, I didn't mean to upset you so much over this, but you have to face facts. I am a human and I always will be no matter how much energon I have inside me. Eventually things are going to have to change and we'll have to go our separate ways."

 _"You make it sound so easy."_ He told me sadly, his back still turned against me with his head lowered heavily. _"Do you want us to go…so you can…get your…human life…back to the way it was?"_

"What? No Bee that's crazy. Wait, were you listening in on my conversation with Cade?" Bumblebee shrugged his shoulders and whirred at me a little guiltily. Gritting my teeth I had to take a few moments to breathe and keep calm, letting it go for the time being. "Yes, I miss a lot of things about my old life and there are things I wish I could do without having CIA and whatever military group they send to pin my ass to a wall, something as simple as go to the beach and enjoy a day of sunshine and cocktails, but there are things in my life now which I love way more than anything I could ever miss from my old life." Turning around slightly, I took a step towards Bumblebee, my voice cracking with emotion as I tried to make him understand. "You think I want you to go? You think that it doesn't kill me bit by bit that _I'm_ the one orchestrating the escape of the only family I've got left? I'm dying Bee, it feels like I'm dying inside and I can't…I can't…"

Reaching my breaking point for the second time that day I dropped to my knees and gripped my face in my hands as hot tears leaked through them. I sensed Bumblebee shift around and crouch down before me, humming softly with his sweet voice as he gently slipped his finger under my chin and ever so carefully lifted my head. His other hand brushed through the longer locks of my hair so that it fell back over my shoulder, crooning at me gently before speaking. " _I'm sorry…real sorry…I didn't realise…just how much you were suffering…I was a real jerk."_

"Yeah, you kinda were." I agreed, giving a quiet laugh as I wiped my face with my sleeve before I focused on him and placed my hands either side of his face. "Listen to me Bee. I can't do this without you. I need you more than anyone else, so if you're not with me then how am I supposed to get through this? You and me are all that's left, we have to stick together no matter what otherwise we're going to end up dead or worse, as experiments and test subjects." Sniffing a little I leaned forwards until my head was resting against his mouthpiece, closing my eyes against the onslaught of fears and anxieties which were coming at me in waves. "You're all I have left Bee, I can't lose you. Not right now."

 _"It's alright."_ Bumblebee said to me gently, touching my cheek with his fingertip so that I looked up at him. _"I ain't goin' nowhere…I'm sorry for how I acted…guess I just…"_ Waiting for a moment to let him finished I then arched an eyebrow expectantly.

"Just what?" Bumblebee made a reluctant groaning noise, turning his face away so I caught onto him. "Come on Bee you can tell me, you just what?" A heavy sigh came from him as Bumblebee looked at me with a sidelong look, almost as if he were shy.

 _"I guess I just realised…with you talking…like we were never…gonna see each other again…it made me realise…just how much…how much I…feel for you."_ A little taken aback my mouth opened but no sound came out, a little confused and uncertain if I'd heard him right or if Bumblebee had used the wrong audio. _"I know it's not…what you want in life…but if we're going to soon…be saying goodbye…then I want you to know that…I love you."_ Lifting his hand Bumblebee tapped against his chest to where his spark lay. _"I feel it here…for a long time now."_

"Bee I…I…" Inside it was like someone was squeezing my lungs and my gut at the same time. How was I supposed to respond to something like that? Trying to say something more sensible, Bumblebee shook his head and shifted back a little so that there was a little more distance between us.

 _"Don't worry…I don't expect anything…but for all the…eons…that I may live…know that this…spark…belongs to you and you alone…and that is why I detest…the knowledge that soon…I will be looking upon you…for the last time."_ Giving a smile at me the way only Bumblebee could, he turned and lifted his hand to point up towards the stars which were glittering in a multitude beyond counting, filling the black inky night with glittering radiance as several danced across the velvet curtain in pure streaks before disappearing from view. _"Our leader…Optimus Prime…said to think…of one of those…stars…as his…soul…I would like it…if you would…think of one of them…as mine."_

"Bee." Now I was crying. The sentiment was so heartfelt and emotionally devastating at the same time that I could do nothing but walk towards him and place my cheek to his chest as I embraced him. Shaking with my occasional sobs I lifted my gaze and my glassy orbs became filled with starlight, searching until I found Orion's belt and named each star after Optimus, Jazz and finally Bumblebee. "Don't leave me. Please don't leave me I'm begging you Bee, please!" As my sobs escalated Bumblebee lifted me up and cradled me against him, keeping me warm against his armour as the night grew colder and colder. "Please…please…I don't want you to go…please don't leave me…"


	39. Chapter 39

I don't remember the journey back or how I ended up tucked up in bed at the shack, but when I woke up the next morning I felt extremely bittersweet. For a moment I just lay there, staring up at the ceiling until eventually I rose up to my feet, grabbed something to eat and splashed my face with water. As I gripped onto the rim of the sink I felt a little ill, completely drained from everything that happened yesterday whilst Bumblebee's words rolled around in my head. I could barely believe it, I hadn't even considered the fact that these guys could even find humans attractive or fall in love with them, but then again there were so many different ways that people loved in this world, why shouldn't it transcend species?

Everything was so scrambled up in my head that I didn't even know how to answer him. Of course given the choice I wouldn't want any of them to leave Earth, especially not Optimus and Bumblebee and I loved them both with everything I had, it's just…wait, _do_ I love Bumblebee that way? He and I had always had a different dynamic, even compared to myself and Jazz. It was always softer, a little more intimate and I always found myself turning to Bumblebee whenever I just wanted to hide away from my problems. He'd hold me and hide me and I would feel safer and more comforted no matter what was happening.

To think of him leaving made my heart thrum with pain, the trembling vibrations causing spasms of pain until I took several deep breaths to calm myself. Looking at myself in the mirror, I watched as my irises shifted from greyish blue to a pale shade of violet. My thoughts were snatched away from me when I heard a bleeping sound from outside and suddenly both Wheelie and Brains were yelling for me. "Yo! Babe you gotta get out here, enough of the beauty sleep and take a look at this!"

"We got something oh ho we got something _good_!" Hurriedly I grabbed something to tie back my hair and rushed outside to the control station where several screens were flashing with results from the probe scans. Mostly they were clear with no signs of sentient life or Decepticons themselves, however one of the probes did locate what looked to be an abandoned Decepticon base. "We hit the jackpot."

"I'll say. Let me sit down a second Brains, you two fly the other probes to these coordinates and let's check it out. Just because there's no movement doesn't mean it's empty." I directed them as Brains hopped out of my seat and let me take it, manning the probe myself with one hand on the joystick and the other controlling the camera as I moved in closer. Scans showed no life or signatures, but I was not going to leave anything to chance.

"Those Deceptions must have built this place a long time ago. Why'd they leave it behind?"

"I don't know Wheelie, but take a look at this. What does that look like to you?" I asked him as I pointed to the screen where my probe was sending us huge blocks of information with the layout of the base and the schematics of each section, drawing focus to one in particular as I had no clue what it is.

"Aw man, that's a hive! That's where they must have been trying to create their army from scratch with all these sparklings." He explained as he tapped on the screen and brought up the video feed.

"Are they alive?"

"No, they ain't alive, don't think they ever lived in the first place. See the Decepticons might have wanted to grow its own army, but they still needed a power source to bring them online like…"

"The All Spark or the Matrix." I finished for him.

"Yeah that's right. These are just shells here and in any case, they wouldn't be dangerous." Wheelie assured me so I exhaled. This was good. If this base was useable then the Autobots could use it for themselves. Let's just hope that they don't mind crashing at a Decepticon base for a while, also I'll have to send a team ahead for a scouting mission to make sure everything was alright and deactivate any homing devices or outgoing signals summoning Decepticons. "Wait a minute, babe are you seeing this?" Leaning in a little closer I looked to what Wheelie was pointing at.

"That's not Decepticon technology, that there is Autobot." Brains informed me as he downloaded the information and translated it for us all.

"How do they have Autobot technology? What even…oh…my…god." As I stared at the four claw like talons which faced upwards, I finally noticed what was at the centre of each. A pillar. "It's a space bridge."

"How the heck did those 'cons get their hands on a space bridge?!" Neither of us had an answer to that, however with this space bridge, ideas started to pop up in my mind.

"Brains, can you find out everything you can about that bridge? Try and see if it still works and where it leads to." We spent the entire day inspecting this base, checking every nook and cranny and inspecting every piece of detail we could draw from our investigations. "I can't believe it. This is like finding a castle of gold behind a secret door. This is perfect, I can't even…" Raking a hand back through my hair I turned and walked off my disbelief, pacing back and forth.

"What's this you're on about?" Crosshairs asked as he noticed the commotion of us gathered in the control station. "Hey that's a pretty badass looking base, that feed from those probes you sent up? Can't believe they actually worked, I thought they'd end up in deep space somewhere or they'd crash land before even reaching the stratosphere."

"Why _thank_ you for your vote of confidence, it really is heart warming." I drawled sarcastically as I perched myself on a table with my feet propped up on a chair. "But in answer to your question, yes this video feed is from the probes and this is a Decepticon base we've found. Completely deserted and abandoned with remnants of a space bridge just like what Sentinel created. It's a little different so I think the technology was only modelled upon the basic technology, but it's functional. We're working right now to obtain the key codes."

"Codes? What do you need them for?"

"To open up a portal from this side to link with the bridge on Mars. If I can build a space bridge here, we can send through any Autobots needing to escape through to safety and if it works, you can come back and forth at will in just a few seconds. It's perfect, it's exactly what we need." Animated by this discovery I was already working on ideas on how to build my own space pillars.

"Hate to kill the mood, but even with all your fancy diagnostics and stuff, you don't have the capability to build another space bridge here. Your world lacks most of the materials and anything less might prove disastrous. You could open up a black hole and suck all of us in and I don't fancy that personally." Crosshairs pointed out and I knew he was right. There was no way I would find a power core suitable for these pillars, no matter how much I tried. I can't build without materials, however what if I didn't have to?

"We already have pillars for a bridge." Secretly marvelling at my own genius I beamed proudly. "I need to make a call. Hound!" Coming at my summoning Hound set up our communications and linked me up to Simmons where I sent him a coded message, requesting his help to get into contact with Director Mearing. She'll know what happened to those pillars and if we could get our hands on them, I can build a portal here no problem.

"Sounds like you guys have been busy." Cade said as he and Drift returned from picking up supplies. He tossed me a bottle of water which I caught and gratefully drank from. "What's going on?" Excitedly I chattered away about the space bridge and the Decepticon base however when I launched into a deep explanation about how the science worked, Cade had to stop me and make me explain exactly what the space bridge was. The others seemed interested in the thought of having a base on Mars with Drift and Crosshairs already discussing how they were going to improve it and build further extensions so that they could have their own private quarters and take charge.

 _"If you two…try taking the lead…it'll be over before it even begins."_ Bumblebee said to them both as he stood with his hands resting upon his hips. Biting on my lip I glanced towards him discreetly, trying to figure out how he felt about this development but he seemed calm, which was irritating because I knew that that wasn't everything there was to it.

"Hey Bumblebee, about…"

 _"Ssh…"_ He hushed me, crouching down and pressing a finger to his mouth and I blinked at him blankly. " _It's our little secret."_

"Secret? Bee I…" Shaking his head quickly Bumblebee lifted his hand to cover my face so I tried to duck down to continue talking but his hand followed me, rising and falling and going left to right as I tried to move around him until finally I growled in frustration and just grabbed his hand after launching myself at it, dangling from his hand as he started in surprise. "For goodness' sake Bee, just let me talk damn it!"

 _"Sorry…gotta go!"_

"Get back here you giant canary yellow robot!" Bumblebee hastily put me down and folded up to drive away, ripping through the junkyard and leaving me coughing on his dust trail. "Jerk. The sooner I get my other body back the better, because then I am going to kick your ass." I promised aloud to no one in particular. Deciding to take a break from work I headed over to see the Dinobots and their eggs. "Whoa there, ease up on the fire Grimlock or you'll torch the whole place down." I said as I approached, smiling as Grimlock warmed the eggs with a jet of flames from his mouth. "How are they doing?" The Dinobots all rumbled at me warmly as I climbed up into their nest with their permission and carefully slid down to sit with the eggs. "Any idea how long they'll take to hatch?"

Slug snorted at me softly, his horn brushing against my back before moving and rolling one of the eggs towards me so I reached out, testing the surface hesitantly to check how hot it was but found it pleasantly warm so I lifted it up, struggling a little under the weight before I settled it in my lap and hugged it like it were a hot water bottle. "This one yours? It's heavy. I'll take it as a good sign that it'll be a healthy little Dinobot." Strafe and Scorn both squawked and growled at me, pushing their eggs closed to me as Grimlock did the same. "Okay, okay, I'll snuggle them all don't worry." I chuckled and pulled as many of them as I could towards me, encircling my arms around them. "I still don't get how you guys made them but I think there are some things best left undiscovered."

Grimlock made a clicking sound almost like laughter before he sat down with a colossal thud, curling his head and tail around the nest with his face resting next to me so I stroked his brow plate that sat above his eye and a deep, satisfied growl rose from the back of his throat as he closed his eyes to relax. Suddenly I had all of them settling down around the nest, Strafe dropping down and curling around me also with his tails wrapping around the eggs. "You guys are such softies." Slug yawned, exposing the metal tongue before snorting. Relaxing back against Grimlock I actually ended up dozing for a little while, lulled by the pulsing vibrations from my heart however I was stirred when I felt them start to get a little more urgent and insistent.

Something trembled in my lap and my eyes opened to see the eggs were all quivering. "Guys? Guys! Somebody wanna tell me what's going on here?!" I squeaked, waking up the Dinobots who all lifted their heads before getting to their feet and pushing their faces down towards the eggs which were now starting to shake with a little more urgency. "People! We got egg hatching over here somebody help me!" Quickly everyone came running, curious to see the eggs hatch and as the metal sections started to lift, raise and move, I stared in absolute disbelief as the eggshells started to shape themselves and transform until my lap was littered with small mini Dinobots. They all squeaked and squawked, blinking their barely open optics and struggled a little as they tried to figure out how to walk and maintain balance.

"Aw, they're kinda cute." Crosshairs said as everyone peered into the nest, Cade as gobsmacked as I was.

"Ugh, they're like little rats. They're gonna get under our feet and chew on everything." Hound grunted with distaste.

"Baby dinosaurs. Right." Cade mumbled with a shrug before then starting to climb up the nest to join me. "Looks like our family just got a little bigger, am I right? Let's get a good look at you." Reaching out Cade picked up the baby Grimlock who squeaked and tried to tug away as the others continued to crawl all over me, baby Strafe perching on my head and squawking constantly as the tails wrapped around my neck for balance. So long as it didn't squeeze, we were fine. "Wow, this is crazy, do they grow or something?"

"Don't ask me, I'm not an alien expert or anything. I just build stuff and occasionally shoot things." I chuckled as the little triceratops rolled onto its back and wiggled its feet as I tickled its belly. "Ouch! Hey there little guy, you need to be careful of those spikes, they're pretty sharp." I chuckled as I stroked the spinosaurus's head so that it didn't feel neglected.

"You're a tough little bruiser aren't you? Look at you." Cade was saying to our little tyrannosaurus however the little guy didn't seem to appreciate being taken away from its nest mates, evident by the way it flicked Cade on the cheek with its tail then tried to throw fire at him but managed nothing more than a few sparks. "Right. I'll put you down then." I couldn't help but laugh, smiling as I opened my arm and the little guy trotted straight on over to me.

"Guess he knows his favourite." Cade pulled a face at me before smiling, letting the other sniff at him before they started to climb over him too. "What are we going to call them?"

"That one's Spike." Crosshairs immediately pointed to our little baby spinosaurus however when everyone turned to look at him, he gave an awkward smile and shrugged his hands. "What? Scorn and me got a longstanding bond thing going, only right I should name his little fella."

"Okay, Spike it is." I agreed, tickling Spike's back just behind his needle sharp spikes and he jumped up and down at the sensation, wriggling with excitement.

"If that is the case, then I say that we name this little one Crusher. It is a good name." Drift said, pointing down to the triceratops who lifted its head, regarded the finger then suddenly lunged for it, clamping its strong jaws down on it and Drift howled in pain, grasping at his wrist to resist the urge to just shake the baby dinosaur off of him and send it flying. With a squeak I jumped forwards and grabbed onto the baby, tickling its stomach and it sneezed, the tickling sensation making it let go and under the sudden weight I landed on my butt with a grunt. "It bit me!"

"Then don't put your finger in its face." I retorted easily whilst laughing, everyone else bawling as well at Drift's misfortune as he nursed his finger. "Little nipper aren't you? Very well, we'll call you Crush for short." Looking to the others I watched as the pteranodon started to try and flap its wings but only managed a few inches off the ground before it landed again, still a little too weak to fly so with a chuckle I scooped it up into one hand and lifted it up so that Strafe could nuzzle it and raise it up with both heads to perch up high. "Bumblebee, you and Strafe are good friends, why don't you name this one?" I offered and he blinked before considering for a second.

 _"Well shucks…uh…I think I'll call you…Skydive."_ He decided, leaning in a little closer and tickling the baby's back. Skydive, I liked that name, it suited the little guy rather well.

"Which just leaves you buddy. You like me now huh?" Cade said to the last of the bunch, the tyrannosaurus. "I'm not really imaginative with names so we'll call you Rex, if that's alright with you?" Looking across to me I shrugged with a smile.

"Fine by me, if it were left to me I'd be naming them after my favourite music artists so these probably suit them better. Isn't that right Sinatra?" I said teasingly to Crush who chirped at me happily, making me giggle. We stayed for a little while longer until finally the little Dinobots started to settle down and go to sleep so Cade and I climbed out of the nest and let the Dinobots all take turns watching over the nest.

With today's excitement now behind us everyone returned to work. Cade helped Brains and Wheelie with the space probes and I returned to work on my other body. I had fixed the spark and most of the inner workings, however there was still plenty to do but I was confident I would have it finished by next month. I already had plans for a new paintjob and couldn't wait to get started on it. _"Need a hand?"_ Jolting from pure fight I dropped my tools and yelped, arms flailing and I slipped off the body but Bumblebee's hand quickly caught me so after the initial lurch I was set back on my workspace. _"Sorry about that…didn't mean to scare ya."_

"No it's fine Bee, I just didn't hear you." I breathed away the surprise as I wiped my hands somewhat clean on my rag cloth though I knew I looked a mess with grime steaks all over my face with sweat clinging to my body. "But yes, I could use with a hand here. See those rivets? I've been trying to work them free for the past hours without much joy, think you can remove this section here for me?"

 _"It's a done deal."_ Bumblebee nodded his head then went over to the tools shed and picked up a transformer side wrench before starting to work the ruined chest piece free. I watched him work, pointing out the ones that were hidden and once it was free he lifted it off and pulled it away so I could climb down and inspect the circuits and skeletal frame.

"Well it's not as bad as I thought. Problem is because Lockdown punched through, it wasn't a clean break so most of this is a mess." Without even thinking about it I was talking to Bumblebee casually, so focused on my work that I forgot to be awkward or cautious and we worked flawlessly together. With his superior strength he was able to pull off the ruined bits of metal whilst I used my smaller hands to get right down into the frame and started to mend the torn circuits and replace anything that was beyond repair.

We worked late into the night, slowly beginning to return my other body to its former glory and although when we finally stopped for the night it looked pretty much the same on the outside, we had made leaps and bounds of progress that we were both proud of. Exhausted and barely fighting off sleep, Bumblebee gently lifted me off the ground and picked up the blanket that was strewn across the sofa outside and carefully rolled me onto the couch and placed the blanket over me, whirring at me with soft sounds and I groaned, curling up and pulling the blanket around me, drifting into sleep with the imprint of bright blue optics imprinted on my mind.


	40. Chapter 40

"Okay Sides, how's it looking?" I asked as I sat at my station, flying one of the probes next to his head as he searched through the abandoned Decepticon base with Dino and another Autobot scout we had rescued some months back, Smokescreen.

"Well it stinks of Decepticon but other than that, not too bad." Sideswipe answered me as the team carefully inspected every inch of the base. "Where was that control room you mentioned?" Giving him directions as well as leading with the probe I warned him to be careful of hidden traps or triggers to set off alarms, however he assured me Smokescreen was taking care of it. Sideswipe sent Dino ahead to the control room so that he could take a look at the space bridge.

Simmons had pulled through for me in contacting Mearing and she had been more than willing to help us and put her job and even her freedom on the line in order to get me those space bridge pillars. The control one had been destroyed however the others were still functional and there was everything was able to be controlled through the Decepticon base, all we had to do was link the two portals together. It had been hard work getting hold of them and Mearing had organised pretty much everything. We had met in secret and she had aged quite a bit since I had last seen her with more grey in her hair and more lines on her face, but she was still glad to see I was alright. She was one of those in the government and military who were against the movement to exile and destroy all transformers, so after a few hours of planning, we'd set ourselves into motion.

I had gone into the city with Bumblebee and Crosshairs where I had transferred my consciousness into the truck transporting the pillars after it had been decided to move them to a new location in response to evidence which suggested that 'Decepticons' were seeking to take them. It had been smooth going after that as I took over the vehicle, evicted the drivers and driven into our trap where Bumblebee and Crosshairs took out the escort with electro-charges which stalled their vehicles and with a few brightly coloured smoke bombs, we had escaped. Of course being in control of the truck, I'd cut off transferring signals, driven to the exchange point where we placed the pillars in my jeep and we returned home. Simple as pie.

With the pillars now in my possession, I was working on linking them to the space bridge on Mars and so far, things were going well. It took hours of work but together, we finally managed to activate the bridge and the bright blue light rushed upwards whilst on our end, the pillars suddenly came online and a large portal burst into life. "It's working! It's frigging working!" I chanted, laughing briefly before I yelled to Hound to throw a car through and see if it works.

"Right-o!" Grasping one of the scrapped cars he launched it straight at the bridge and we all watched with baited breath as the car disappeared through the light. Waiting, I moved the probe to watch the other end, crossing all fingers and toes until finally the car exploded out onto Mars with considerable force and smacked Sideswipe in the back of the head, crushing him face down into the dirt before he spat it out and yelled.

"Who in Primus' name threw a car at me? Frigging rusting junk." Unable to help myself I laughed, hands shooting up into the air.

"It works! Sides, check the car, any damage?"

"Well now that I've kicked it, sure but otherwise it looks to me like an eroding piece of junk." He said with a hand gesture towards it. "That how it's supposed to look?"

"Absolutely. Alright, we'll run a few more tests before we start attempting one of you guys…"

"Agh we ain't got time to ass around with your experiments and test runs or whatever, let's just go for it!" Crosshairs waved me off and started to run straight for the portal, causing alarm to rush through me and I yelled his name fearfully, surging forwards but before either Bumblebee or Drift could catch him, he gave a wild hoot before leaping through the portal. I froze in place, staring at where he had disappeared before I rushed back to the monitor and prayed that he would be alright. The portal spat him out on the other side and he landed heavily into a roll before leaping up and celebrating as Sideswipe glided back out of the way, cautious to not be hit again. "I'm alive! You seeing this? Can you see me? I'm alive!"

"You no brained impulsive dipshit, that was the most reckless thing you could ever have done! Get your metal hide back here don't ever undermine me ever again or I shall peel the paint from your body and dunk you in acid!" Furiously exploding with rage Sideswipe winced slightly as my voice screamed at him too through our communication link.

"Aw crap. I'm in trouble."

"No kidding." Sides agreed, saluting sarcastically as Crosshairs came running back through the portal. I had already transferred myself into one of the standing cars nearby and transformed so that as he came flying out the other side I caught him in mid-air by his foot and slammed him into the ground, holding nothing back as I then grabbed him by the arm and leg, lifted him up and flung him as far as I could.

"Dumbass!" I thundered before folding down and waking back up in my human body, cleared my throat then continued. "Well, at least we know it's safe. Brains, send the message out to our other teams and all Autobots in hiding, we have a way out of here. I'm going to move the portal further out into the desert as not to be traced here. Sideswipe, you and your team will need to return with the ship so that those remaining on Earth can escape if the portals are compromised."

"Understood. Keep the bridge active and we'll fly straight through." Brains and I continued to run the program, waiting until the ship we had taken from Lochdown's vessel came gliding into view through the portal. The Autobots all cheered, Hound releasing a few rounds into the sky as Sideswipe, Dino and Smokescreen carefully manoeuvred the ship down to the ground amidst all the scrap.

"This is the coolest thing I've ever seen." Wheelie said, folding his arms with an air of pride as he stood next to me on the desk. "We did good babe. You sure pulled through."

"It's all thanks to you guys." I answered him, bumping fists with him and Brains before I strode forwards to go and greet the others. Sideswipe glided out of the ship on his wheels, effortlessly gliding a circle around me as I came to a halt, smiling up at him. "Long time no see Sides."

"Been too long little redhead. Glad we made it." He answered as he knelt down to bow his head respectfully before he rose back to his feet and turned towards Bumblebee. "How's it going Bee? You haven't changed one bit!"

 _"It's in my genes."_ Bee answered as Dino and Smokescreen both exited the ship.

" _Mia bella_ , you look as radiant as ever. It is good to be seeing you again." Dino said to me charmingly in his luxurious Italian accent and I laughed at his attempts to sweet talk me.

"Still the same Dino, it's good to see you too. Smokescreen, we haven't officially met but I'm that voice that's been talking in your ear since you landed on Mars. Welcome back to Earth." I said to Smokescreen who was inspecting his surroundings curiously, his smoky grey and black armour gleaming from a fresh varnish. "My name is Helen."

"Ah, so you are the one who orchestrated my rescue. You have my thanks, I am indebted to you." He said to me politely, surprising me by kneeling down into the ground and bowing his head like Sideswipe had.

"Oh no, no that's not necessary, Sides is just a show off you don't have to bow or anything." A little embarrassed I coughed, looking around desperately before spotting Cade and the others. "Ah! Here are some more of us. This is Crosshairs, Drift, Hound and Cade Yeager. We're the Chicago team and this is where we're based. Be careful, we've also got a few…" Right on queue the baby Dinobots came running through my legs, squeaking and squawking as they rushed at the new arrivals to check them out. "Dinobots."

"What the frag?!" Sideswipe balked, lifting up one leg as Rex tried to chew on his wheel. "It's trying to eat me!"

"Oh believe me that's nothing, these are just the babies. Grimlock could chew you up and spit you out in one bite." I mentioned to Sideswipe who looked up in alarm then started to spin around, searching for the other Dinobots who came forwards to see what all the commotion was all about, roaring and releasing bursts of flames which the babies all tried to copy. "Rex, Rex come here, stop trying to eat my friends." Giving a sharp whistle the babies all dropped whatever they had in their mouths and came rushing towards me, cooing and rubbing their faces against my legs. "Sorry, I'm still trying to train them."

"I see." Sideswipe made a point to stay well away from the younger ones, however he introduced himself to Grimlock who snorted at him indignantly before sniffing at Dino and Smokescreen. "They're friendly, right?"

"Mostly. They can be bad tempered occasionally." Cade supplied so we hurriedly tried to get the Dinobots under control. With the ship now returned I set to work locating all Autobots across the globes. With the space bridge now functional, we stood a chance at saving everyone.

"We shall return to the base and operate the space bridge there. Helen, I hope that this is not the last time we meet." Sideswipe said to me as he, Dino and Smokescreen stood in front of the portal, ready to take the trip back to Mars.

"Do you have everything you need? Are you unsure you unloaded all your supplies from the ship? You'll contact me if you need anything or if there's trouble, right?" I fussed, wringing my wrists nervously as I looked up at them all. "If this goes wrong then it'll all be my fault and I wouldn't be able to handle it if any of you got hurt because I put you in such a position."

"Relax, we're all capable warriors and we must have searched that base at least a hundred times by now." Sideswipe assured me, kneeling down so that our heights were a little more even. "It has been the greatest honour to serve by your side all these years, Helen Clarkson. You are a Prime in the making." I couldn't help but relax and smile a little as he said those words and whilst he continued to kneel, both Dino and Smokescreen did the same and pressed a fist into the ground before them, each bowing their heads reverently to me.

"I would follow you to the end of the multiverse, _mia bella_. Do not weep for my parting, for we shall meet again among the stars." Dino told me charmingly, even going so far as to run one of his fingers down my face however Bumblebee didn't take kindly to the gesture and sent Skydive for Dino and the baby pteranodon screeched loudly before biting on the finger. "Agh _Maria_!" Giggling with amusement I made a whistling sound and Skydive immediately let go, soaring around my head before landing on my shoulder and winding his tail protectively around my waist.

"Behave yourself Dino. Sides, keep an eye on him." I instructed before winking at them. Smokescreen lowered his head a little further as he spoke with a respectful tone.

"May Primus guide you well and watch over you." Unable to say anything for the uncomfortable lump in my throat I bought myself some time by reaching out and patting his arm, swallowing back the large rock and wetting my throat.

"And the same to you. Take care you three, I'll be sure to contact you when the first wave of refuges come through." And that was it. They said a rather boisterous goodbye to the other Autobots, saluted Cade before they all leaped through the portal and once I was sure they were safe on the other side, I shut it down. For a moment I leaned against my desk and bowed my head, trying to keep myself from feeling too overemotional. This was it, it was really happening. The Autobots had a way off Earth and I was going to do my damnedest to ensure they got off this rock alive.

"Babe? Everything okay?" Lifting my head I turned around, my face revealing a storm of determination and self-assuredness.

"We've got work to do."


	41. Chapter 41

We transported the space bridge out into the desert and from there we started to locate as many Autobots as we could. With the frequency that Brains managed to pinpoint which would feed to all Autobot channels we were able to draw some of them to us, though we always gave coordinates of a secondary location before bringing them to the bridge in order to ensure that TRF didn't catch onto what we were doing. There were a few close calls, but nothing as close as when the twins Skids and Mudflap responded to our message.

They had been running from TRF for some time but had managed to lose them when they'd given me an emergency signal and I'd helped them escape by giving them orders and hacking into TRF servers with Brains who did all the computer coding and work. We gave them a window and they rushed to take it. They escaped and I gave them a location to meet me so that I could bring them to the portal. With me I took Hound and Bumblebee, hoping that from here on out things would be simple.

It wasn't.

When the twins came into view I had stood up from where I'd been leaning against Bumblebee and made to go greet them however their voices suddenly came screaming through the radio. "We got uglies on our tail! They been shooting at us!"

"Yeah those bozos shot out my rear light, girl you gotta save us!" They were so panicked and hysterical that I could barely get through to them.

"Keep driving, everyone move out!" I leaped back into Bee and he wheeled us around, Hound surging forwards transformed as a medical truck. The twins fell in behind us, still yelling and panicking together. "Skids, Mudflap, get your act together and focusing on driving! Don't worry, I picked this location because we have an entire forest in which we can lose them, so move it and don't you dare get left behind. I am not losing anybody today you hear me?"

"Yes ma'am!" They chorused together so I twisted in my seat, watching through the back window as they swerved to avoid the gunfire from the sedans that were starting to creep up on us.

"Hound, I need an explosion."

"One big ass explosion coming right up. Look out you fleshy bastards!" He yelled and hit his brakes so that Bumblebee swerved around him and the twins streaked past him. Now at the back Hound transformed whilst driving and landed on his side, rolling a few times before grasping at two grenades. "Come and get some!" With a yell as he skid over the road he flung the grenades before transforming once again and moving to catch us up. The explosions were just what we needed. They forced the pursuers to scatter and serve to avoid the blast though the front two sedans were flipped over from the force of the blast.

"Okay Bee, I need your best driving. Take us into the trees and don't slow down."

 _"You got it_." He answered before swerving into the trees, the twins following after us whilst Hound continued to drive, following our plan. As I had anticipated the TRF soldiers split up, only sending two after Hound and I ordered him to keep an open channel and constantly update me on his situation before then also calling in Drift, Crosshairs and Cade for our backup. Of course I planned ahead, I've done this enough times to always have a contingency.

"Cade I need you and your team to cover Hound. Get him out of here and back to basecamp but make sure you lose those trucks he's got on his tail. Keep a distance and don't let them touch you either, they might try to bug you."

"Roger that. Come on you two, party's on." Cade responded so I clicked off my radio then looked back to the twins.

"You guys okay?"

"Dude this is seriously not good for my spark, I feel like I'm going to go into overdrive." Skids complained as he and his brother weaved and served out of the way of the trees as they rushed past us and it took everything we had to avoid crashing.

"Yo those creepy dudes are back and they are _nasty_!" Cursing to myself I switched around and looked in the rear view mirror before twisting my head to try and see how far behind they were. Not far enough for my liking. "I count five?"

"Moron you can't even count!" Skids retorted snappishly and the two started to get into another fight, ramming one another in the sides.

"Guys! If you two don't quit this right now then I swear I will let the TRF have you with my compliments!" That got them to shut up. Now, we need to work on losing them. "Bee can you shoot whilst driving?"

 _"Can I shoot? You asking me…if I can shoot? Watch and learn little girl."_ The audio tracks blended together perfectly and Bumblebee instantly whirled around and switched to reverse, the uneven ground tossing me about in the seat, however Bumblebee partially shifted so that his sides opened out and he launched missiles at our pursuers, several shots hitting the earth and causing an spray of mud and dirt and they desperately tried to avoid being hit only to drive into the trees instead or get flipped over by the sudden motion of being turned. Two were taken out completely but Bumblebee had to swing around again so that he could make a difficult turn and lead the twins further into the forest.

"Good shooting Bee, knew I could count on you."

 _"Just doing my job."_ Smiling slightly I reached out and touched the dashboard with my hand, smoothing my palm against the smooth surface before returning my focus.

"Yo, these guys just don't know when to quit." Mudflap complained as the sedans continued after us. "Incoming!"

"Evasive manoeuvres!" I ordered and instantly all three of us swerved from side to side around the trees as bullets came raining down upon us.

"Helen we've secured Hound and are en route back to base. What's your situation looking like?" Cade asked me and I hestitated a moment, opening up Bumblebee's window and listened outside as the thrumming sensation I had been feeling turned into the sound of rotating blades. Great, now we have them following us by air.

"Send Drift back, tell him we've got birds on our tail and we're running out of forest." I instructed. No sooner had I put the radio down, a rush of fire burst behind us and I Skids went flying up into the air, soaring over ahead of us and I instinctively screamed his name in fear for him. "TRANSFORM NOW!" Skids immediately followed my instructions and as he shifted into his standing form, his tougher body took on the blows from the trees as he crashed through them and the trunks creaked, groaning before toppling to the ground with a crash. "Skids!"

"Bro!" Bumblebee and Mudflap both transformed as well and I found myself being shifted into Bumblebee's hand where he placed me on the ground and I ran to Skids as he started firing at the TRF, holding them back and even picked up one of the fallen trees and threw it like a javelin, blasting down a few more to create a barricade which they were forced to halt in front of before they could hit it. "Hang on bro, I got you."

"Agh I've been shot! Those damn jerks shot my leg out!" Skids cried out, struggling to move from his injuries and I swore colourfully as I reached him.

"It's okay, you're going to be okay." I assured him, quickly searching the damage. "You'll live but you won't be able to transform, can you run?"

"Does it look like I can run to you?!" Skids demanded as he lifted his leg which was crumpled and still glowing slightly from where the heat and seared it. "I feel faint, I think I can see the light…bro, you gotta avenge me!"

"I will bro, I'll always remember you!"

"Oh for gods' sake you're not dying! Mudflap, help Skids up and starting moving in that direction. There's a clearing a few hundred metres ahead so avoid it because we've got birds in the sky. Keep going until you reach the edge of the forest and I'll send Drift to come and grab you Skids, he'll carry you to the portal and get you both out of here." They both blinked at me dumbly. "Go! Move it!"

"Damn she scary as ever." Mudflap muttered before pulling his brother's arm around his shoulder. "Don't worry I got you, we gonna get out of here."

"Not a moment too soon, I'm sick of this planet, everybody shooting at us all the time. We deserve some vacation." Resisting the urge to roll my eyes I ran back to Bumblebee as he continued to fire back at the soldiers.

"Bumblebee!" Yelling over the sound his head turned back to me however a missile flew in from above and I screamed as the ground exploded underneath us. I was flung up into the air and I felt myself crash into a tree, the wind knocked out of my lungs before I dropped down and clung to a branch. "Bumblebee! Say something!"

 _"I'm okay! I'm okay!"_ Thank god. _"Hang on…I'm coming to get you!"_ Scrambling forwards Bumblebee started towards me however when several more blasts struck the ground, he was forced to roll backawards, sending him even further away from me.

"Get out of here Bee, go!"

 _"Not a chance…I ain't leaving you behind."_

"Bumblebee, this is an _order_." I emphasised to him as I crawled up onto the branch of my tree and glared at him. "And I order you to retreat right now! Don't you dare disobey me, I'll have your ass if you do! Go! I'll be fine, I'll be right behind you!" Bumblebee froze, torn between his conscience and his orders before finally he turned and started to run through the trees to escape. Exhaling I felt a rush of peace and relief calm me just a mere second before a final missile struck the base of the tree I was in. It lurched forwards and I sucked in a gasp of shocked fear, watching as the ground rushed up to greet me all too fast for me to jump or do anything.

I hit the ground and several twigs sliced into me, drawing fresh blood which was a deep glimmering red with a bluish overlay almost like a seal, the energon inside me. When I collided with the earth I did my best to tuck up and roll however I still knocked myself out momentarily, ending face down in the grass whilst the TRF started to move up towards me. My consciousness reached out towards their sedans and I merged with the one closest to me. Quickly I scanned my surroundings and counted how many enemy soldiers there were, the analysis downloading into my processor before I then transformer and stood up behind them. "Surprise bitch."

"Look out!" I fired at them, blasting at the ground to send them flying onto their backs whilst scrambling forwards and grabbing my unconscious body from the ground. "Target acquired, black transformer heading due east. Engage!" Hearing the order I quickly swung myself to the side and tried to outrun the onslaught. The trees were way denser here so they could only follow on foot and the canopy was too thick to see through. If I can outrun them, I can avoid being caught until Drift gets here.

"Fire!" I heard the whistling sound of a torpedo slicing through the air before it struck me in the back, causing me so cry out and lurch forwards as pain hit every receptor I had. Still I continued running, stumbling and grasping at the trees for balance and to pull me forwards whilst desperately trying to protect my human body, however they kept on coming. I was fired upon again and again until I broke through the treeline on the other side of the forest and crashed, falling to the ground as they broke through my armour completely and the body shut down, forcing my consciousness back into my human body.

Being released from the now limp hand I rolled to get clear of the shell, though when I finally came to a stop, my lungs were burning and my head was ringing. For a moment I just lay there, too stunned to even remember my own name. Pushing my hands into the ground I started to lift myself up with sluggish movements, touching my head where the ringing sound started to die away and I heard footsteps approaching. As my head turned a boot rammed into my gut, flinging me onto my back and I grunted from the force of the blow, coughing and giving a pain filled cry as I saw a shadow flicker across the sunlight before it sharpened and defined itself into a human face. "So you're the one they're always talking about like some kind of legend. The turncoat." He said before spitting on me and instantly I glared at him with anger. "You betray your own kind for those aliens? Filthy traitor."

"Asshole." At that he went to kick me again however I whirled my legs around and powered my heels up into his ribs, sending him flying onto his back and I rolled onto my knees, quickly trying to stagger to my feet whilst I became surrounded by a whole hoard of soldiers, each with their guns trained on me. Swaggering unsteadily I smirked, spitting out blood from my mouth as it oozed down my nose and turned my pale skin scarlet red. Lifting my hands I spread them wide, giving an open invitation. "Come on, isn't this a little unfair to a lady?"

"We should kill you right here and now, freak." One of the men stated, one who looked particularly trigger happy. "You ain't human but you ain't alien either. You're just some kind of lab experiment gone wrong. A Frankenstein."

"Actually." I slurred slightly, lifting a studious finger as I continued to stumble on my feet, turning a circle. "That is an incorrect reference because Frankenstein was the doctor who _made_ the creature. The reanimated corpse he built was never actually named." A few frowns appeared and several glances exchanged as I sniggered. "Uneducated punks, don't even know your literature." A movement at the corner of my eye caught my attention but before I could look a fist connected with my face, ripping my head backwards and a fistful of my hair was grabbed, holding me in place as a knee slammed into my stomach.

I was knocked to my knees and repeatedly assaulted until I didn't even feel the pain anymore, letting it wash all over me as I coughed up blood and felt a coldness seep into me. "Hey! Stop that! I order you to stand down soldier!" Someone bellowed and I blinked, recognition flitting through my mind as the circle was broken apart and someone rushed to me and gentle hands gripped my shoulders. "My god, I am so sorry Helen."

"Lennox?"

"It's okay, they're not gonna hurt you anymore. You're safe now." A little out of sorts consequential of a concussion, I gave a weak grin.

"You bastard…they roped you into this?"

"Yeah, I'm just following orders. Come on, I'll get you out of here." Lennox started to lift me up, carefully pulling my arm up around his neck and lifting me off the ground. We were headed to the car he'd pulled up in, the soldiers all looking at me with disgust and disdain, however when my heart started to calmly thrum my smile softened and I gripped onto Lennox's shoulder, making him stop.

"They're here." No sooner had I given my warning, a blast caused the group of soldiers behind us to be thrown several feet into the air. Following that, the helicopter that was descending from overhead got taken out by another blast and it dropped the last few feet, its rotary blades having been cleaved off completely. All at once the Autobots leaped from the treeline whilst Drift and Skids came from behind, Skids holding onto Drift with one hand and his weapon in the other.

"Yeah that's right assholes, you about you get your butts handed to ya!" Lennox froze and quickly ordered everyone to hold, weapons raised however when Bumblebee rolled over the ground and stopped before us, his expression was full of fury and he pointed his cannon directly at Lennox whilst holding out his other hand.

 _"Hand her over…before I shoot you in the head…and take her anyway."_

"Easy, easy, let's not get ahead of ourselves." Lennox tried to sooth the situation however the Autobots were not taking no for an answer, all of them aggressively forcing the soldiers to their knees and to exit their vehicles whereby Mudflap and Hound blew them up completely. "Bumblebee, I know this looks bad, but you've got to listen to me."

 _"I said…hand her over!"_

"Whoa! Whoa!" When Bumblebee thrust his cannon more firmly into Lennox's face, I forced my eyes to open and lifted my hand. The moment my fingers brushed against his weapon, Bumblebee softened and his eyes looked down to me as I slowly got down from Lennox's grasp and he helped me stay on my feet, knowing that in this situation there was a need for compromise.

"That's enough." I murmured gently as I used Bumblebee's cannon for support until his other hand came around my waist and delicately lifted me up as if he was terrified of hurting me further. "Let's go home. Autobots, fall back. We're done here." I ordered them all, giving them each a stern look and gradually they eased off. "Lennox, if you so much as shoot a gun at us, I will tell everyone one of my fellas to turn and shoot you all sky high. Do you understand me?"

"Understood. Everybody stand down. It's not worth the casualties." He ordered and despite the fact that there was a silent reluctance, everybody lowered their weapons and I nodded my head in satisfaction, glancing across to Cade who was balanced on Crosshair's shoulder with his own alien gun trained on our opponents. "So you're in charge of these guys now?"

"For the time being. We'll probably be seeing each other again, Lennox. I'm sorry it has to be like this." A small smile touched his lips as he looked up at Bee and me.

"Me too." Giving the signal, everyone transformed and sped away from there however I had them all head in the opposite direction of basecamp and the portal, wanting to make sure we weren't followed and we ended up hiding out in a mountain cave which was just about large enough to fit us all.

"My god, they really went to town on you." Cade winced as I washed off the blood from my face and neck at the stream. "You alright?"

"The energon regenerates my body so I'll heal soon enough." Using my jacket to dry my face I finally felt a little more like myself again. "We'll hide out here until tomorrow then we'll move. I'm not risking getting caught again."

"Yeah I get that, it's just I'm not keen on the idea of leaving Grimlock and the others unsupervised for so long with only Brains and Wheelie there to keep an eye on things. We can't have the entire team holed up in one place." Pausing a moment I considered Cade's words before nodding my head.

"Alright. We'll wait a few hours then send half the team back. They can hold the fort whilst the rest of us wait a little longer to get the twins to the space bridge and send them over. Hopefully Jolt will be able to fix Skids otherwise he'll have to come back and let me and Hound work on him."

"What? You talking about big belly over there? No way am I letting him try fixin' my leg!" Skids yelped as he picked up on our conversation. "He's hurting it more just trying to patch it up!"

"Stop whining like a little bitch and stay still, this don't hurt one bit." Hound growled as he continued to try and wrestle with Skids to dislodge the shell that was lodged into his foot from where he'd been shot. "Damn stubborn little…hold him down Bee whilst I get this critter here out."

"No! No! Save me bro! They gonna kill me or something!"

"No dude, you on your own." Mudflap flicked his hand dismissively as he threw rocks into the trees for entertainment. "Your fault you got shot."

"You heartless traitor!" My head jerked up slightly at the word, thinking back to what that soldier had said. It bothered me a little. It bothered me because I'd never really thought about my allegiance to the Autobots, it was always something that was just unspoken. I guess to the rest of the world, I was a traitor to my own kind. I was sheltering them, rescuing them, freeing them and sending them far away from harm. I'll be a fugitive for the rest of my life. Even after the Autobots are gone I won't be able to go back to living normally since the moment I show my face in public, I'd be arrested and sent to a federal prison until I die. All I had I sacrificed for these Autobots because they were all the family I had. "No sacrifice…no victory." Murmuring the Witwicky motto to myself, I let it bring me comfort. All my sacrifices will not be for nothing. Even if I do end up in prison, if it meant that I had helped the last Autobot escape from this planet to safety then that'll keep me warm and cosy at night.

"Everything alright?"

"Yes. Everything's fine." I responded naturally to Cade, turning and giving a calm smile. "Fine and dandy."


	42. Chapter 42

That escapade had almost been a disaster but eventually, we got Skids and Mudflap to the portal and sent them on through to Sideswipe and the others who gave us the all clear before we were finally able to go home. When I'd stepped out of Bumblebee the baby Dinobots had come flocking to me, Spike in his excitement almost impaling me. I was glad to be back and I gave everyone the day off to do what they liked, so Drift and Crosshairs went out racing, Hound took a long nap and Bumblebee played some of his records on the gramophone that I had fixed for him years ago.

I had brought it back for him from my Texas house where I'd stored it and he had been as happy as could be and was now relaxing to some of the best hits from the sixties and seventies. Me? I spent my day doing my washing. With all the stuff I go through, it was nice to finally have a day where I could clean all my clothes and hang them out on the line to dry in the sun, smelling fresh and floral as I put them away. After that I took a long bubble bath, ate some chocolate and read a book outside in the sunlight before falling asleep. A perfect day.

There was literally nothing that could have ruined that day, except of course getting an alarm from my software to tell me there was an Autobot in trouble. "God damn it." Waking up I staggered over to the control room and pulled on my headset, pulling the mic down to my mouth. "Autobots come in, we've got a crash landed newcomer one state over. Drift, Crosshairs, get back to base then take Cade with you, I'll direct from here." Well, we'd had half a day off so that was something.

When it was all over the guys brought back a badly injured Autobot who was babbling in Cybertronian and lashing out at everyone, completely on edge. "Whoa! Whoa! Did you guys _drag_ him all the way back here?" I demanded as they released the cables that were hooked into the Autobot who then sprung up onto its one good leg and held its gun at us all, threatening to kill us. "You jerks you…I'll deal with you two later. Okay buddy, I need you to calm down, you're safe now." I lifted up my hands in surrender and carefully moved out into view of the Autobot who instantly turned on me. Bumblebee instinctively moved closer to me but I held up my hand and made him freeze, giving him a reassuring nod. "It's alright, you're safe. We're all Autobots here."

Not taking my word for it, the Autobot fired its weapon and I dove for the ground as the cars behind me exploded, debris flying everywhere and everyone yelled. "Now that has got some kick to it. I like it." Hound said as everyone started to move in and surround the Autobot however that just made him even more defensive and the second time he fired, he almost took out my workshop.

"Enough! Back up! Everyone back up now!" I ordered so they retreated, leaving just me facing a rather dangerous Autobot who felled back up in the corner. "It's alright, they're backing away. See? Nobody wants to hurt you." I said to him and the Autobot looked at me, glancing as I pointed to where Bumblebee and Hound were backing away.

"Are you crazy? You can't just talk a giant robot out of killing everything, it thinks we're the enemy!" Cade hissed to me from where he hid. "Get out of there before you become the next target!"

"It's fine, he won't shoot me." I said with very little confidence but continued anyway just to give it a try. With my eyes always focusing on the Autobot, I gave a warm smile as I lowered my hands slowly. "We're friends, allies, we're going to protect you I promise. Brains, Brains? I need you to say something in Cybertronian, got anything that might help?"

"Well I'm a little rusty but I'll try." Hopping down from his station, Brains came over to my side carefully, inching closer so I made a calming motion with my hands until Brains reached my foot, cleared his throat before making various clicking and mechanical noises. Instantly the Autobot growled and answered back in a rather angry sounding tone, pointing his gun at Brains accusingly who then panicked and rattled off a stream of Cybertronian which only seemed to aggravate our newcomer more.

"Brains? I don't think you're helping anymore, you better hide behind me."

"Right." Scampering to hide behind me and gripped onto the back of my leg I backed up a little, giving the Autobot more space as he finished his angry rant before I heard a whirring sound, the plates of his face shifting until they formed a mouth and a more humanoid expression.

"This is the language that you spoke." He informed me and instantly I relaxed a little. Thank god, at least we can communicate now. "Who are you to drag me to this desolate place? Are you Decepticons in disguise or are my brothers traitors to their own kind?" The voice was deep and very masculine with a smooth velvety tone to it which for a brief moment I considered to be rather musical before I shook my thoughts back into order.

"Neither, we're Autobots, but we two humans here, we help you guys when you're in danger. You might not have realised but the moment you landed here on Earth, you became a target of a human organisation called Transformer Response Force, or TRF for short because we're lazy bastards. I sent Drift and Crosshairs to come and fetch you before they could get to you, but I'm sorry for their lack of courtesy to even introduce themselves." Turning my head I shot them a glare so powerful that they shrank underneath it and gingerly hid their faces. "My name is Helen Clarkson, I am a human aligned with the Autobots. This here is Brains, sorry if he said something insulting, it's been a while since he spoke Cybertronian."

"He said that I was going to be made into fossil food unless I programmed the human language into my processor." Stopping short I slowly turned an accusing look down on Brains who laughed weakly before running away.

"I told you I was rusty!"

"Damn little…never mind. Let's put all that behind us and start again." I sighed, shaking my head before then turning back to the newcomer. "What's your name?" He regarded me for a moment, standing up tall and proud despite his injuries before inclining his head.

"They call me Roadblock in your language."

"Roadblock, welcome to Autobot Safe Haven. You're hurt, so for now stay here and I'll help you get back on your feet. Hound here will help take care of you, he's a field medic and if there's anything you need, anything at all, you can order Drift and Crosshairs to get it for you as an apology for the manner in which they brought you here."

"Hey, we tried reasoning with him but he wouldn't stop shooting at us! We had to drag him back here before the humans found us." Crosshairs argued but a single look silenced him. The baby Dinobots came running into view, chasing one another so I bent down and picked up Rex, tickling his neck and smiling before looking back up at Roadblock.

"Don't worry. Once you're recovered we have a portal that will take you off this planet and away from those who are hunting you. You'll be safe, you have my word."

"What good is your word, human, when you are part of the same species who would wish me destroyed?" Roadblock demanded darkly, still gripping onto his weapon but I did not break my gaze, even as Rex wriggled in my arms and I had to put him down.

"If you will not take my word as a human, Roadblock, then take my word as the sparkling of the leader of the Autobots, Optimus Prime." Roadblock physically reacted to the news, staring at me before he leaned in a little closer and sniffed me.

"Your signature does remind me of Prime, it has been a long time since we last were in company with one another. Are you truly his sparkling? How is this possible?" Chuckling I reached up and tugged on his finger to draw him towards the workshop so that I could start on his repairs, telling him that it was a long story and I would only tell him if he agreed to let me try and fix his injuries from his crash into Earth. Hound helped me patch Roadblock up as I told him all about Mission City and our subsequent battles with the Autobots, the others all pitching in until we had his leg set straight and I had fixed the joints of his shoulder.

Roadblock stayed with us and recovered for a few days before Bumblebee and I took him to the space bridge and saw him across the portal, not leaving until we had received word from the other side that he had arrived safely. _"Sometimes it's hard…but other times…it's completely worth…all the effort we put in."_ Bumblebee said to me as we stood side by side, watching as the portal closed behind Roadblock. _"Risking our lives…if it means we can…save just…one more person…then it's worth it."_

"I agree. Don't worry Bumblebee. We'll save as many as we can, I won't ever stop, I'll keep on resisting and fighting back for as long as I need." The moonlight brightened as the clouds peeled back and we both lifted our gazes to the stars. I contemplated them for a moment before speaking. "Which one do you think is Optimus?" Glancing down at me Bumblebee bent his knee and offered me his hand so I sat down and lift me up to his height so that when he pointed, I could see.

 _"That one."_ There was nothing special about the star, it was the same among thousands. It was neither the brightest nor the largest, it was just a star, however to my wonder, Bumblebee had picked one of the stars that depicted Orion's belt. _"He's there somewhere…I just know it."_

"I hope he comes back soon. I miss him. It already feels like an age since he left." Humming in agreement Bee nodded, still looking up though he lowered his hand more comfortably to his side. We were silent for a few moments as we stargazed, the chill of the night beginning to creep up on me but I brushed it off, not wanting this moment to end.

 _"Will you miss me when I go?"_ He asked me softly and I blinked, twisting up and around to see Bumblebee was now looking at his feet in sadness. _"When the time comes…I want to know that…you won't forget me…because I know that I won't ever…forget you."_ For a few precious seconds I said nothing, simply looked at him before finally I climbed out of his hand and onto his torso, grabbing hold with my hands to pull myself up as he looked at me in confused bewilderment until I was perched at the top of his chest, precariously balanced as I placed my hands against his face, tenderly running one hand down his cheek before I leaned in and kissed it, lingering a moment before I then laced my arms around his neck and embraced him securely.

"It'll break my heart when you leave Bumblebee, but that pain will mean that I loved you so much that I'll live the rest of my life knowing and remembering you. There's no need for you to worry about whether or not I'll miss you. It's likely I'll cry every day until the day I die." As a single tear traced my cheek I closed my eyes, feeling the warmth of his hand as he placed it upon my back to return my embrace. "I do love you Bee. I love you so damn much." We stayed a while longer out in the middle of nowhere with Bumblebee lying on his back with me nestled neatly against his chest, the both of us gazing up at the stars whilst I wondered how long I had left with my family, wishing that I could extend the hours of the day and turn time on it's head, because I was not ready to let any of them go.

Especially not Bumblebee.


	43. Chapter 43

Wearing a spyglass over my eyes I flipped down another lens to magnify the delicately small program chip, smelting with miniscule movements to carefully rearrange the wiring. Behind me something exploded but I did not even flinch, carefully finishing my task as Hound boomed behind me. "Boo-yah! Been holding that one in for a while." He declared before another explosion went off elsewhere and my lips turned into a grimace as I started to get pissed. "Damn, forgot about that cluster bomb." Now finished, I put my things down and tugged down my goggles, the lenses falling against my collarbone as I pushed back against my seat and strode out into the open.

"Hound! How many times a day do I have to damn well tell you, stop laying your bombs everywhere, you're only going to make the Dinobots charge, so enough with the freaking explosions!"

"That's the way I roll. I like to make a statement when I arrive." He answered me simply so with a growl I picked up a wheel cover and launched it at him like a frisbee and it smacked him in the side of the head. "Ow."

"Well stop it! You're blowing up my junkyard and I if I have to listen to another mind numbing ear deafening boom of any kind then it'll be your ass on the line!" Giving him a warning point of my finger I rolled my eyes and turned around, looking around for Cade and Bumblebee, however the former was already yelling.

"Damn it, Grimlock, you stole Chief Sherman's cruiser _again_?!"

"Cade, that's what you get for taking the yellow bugger. You need a leader out there, like me." Crosshairs told him smugly however Bumblebee vaulted over one of the rusting cars and got right up in Cross's face. Holy crap not this again. I swear, if I could offline them for just twenty four hours, I would.

 _"Shut up! Before I do some damage you won't walk away from."_ Bee threatened, the two of them circling around one another however Crosshairs refused to back down.

"You will never be Optimus Prime."

 _"You talk too much."_ As I ran over to them they started to fight, grappling with one another on the ground whilst Cade went to go with Grimlock.

"Hey! Assholes! Get your butts over here right now!" Jerking away from one another they both pushed at each other's heads, glaring at one another until I started to push against Bumblebee's leg and forced him to step away from Crosshairs. "Bee, Cross, do I have to get Hound to sit on you both until you make up again? Because if that doesn't work, I'll make Grimlock or Slug do it. Today is not the day to be pissing about, so damn well act like an intelligent species and quit all this crap! Bumblebee, I expected better from you." His wings wilted at my disappointment in him so I waved him away before then smacking Cross's leg. "And you! All this talk about being a leader when you can't even earn respect."

"It ain't my problem he thinks he's all high and might since he's Prime's second when I'm a better fighter, it should've been me out there today." Sighing in exasperation I pinched the bridge of my nose, calming my temper before continuing.

"If you say one more thing about Bee again, I will transform into the biggest vehicle I can find and bust a cap in your ass. No go clean the gutters and don't even think about acting out again for the rest of the day." Although he complained Crosshairs did as I ordered him, knowing better than to try and take me on. The last time he'd tried, I'd hit him with an electro-staff which had fried his processors for a good couple of hours and in his own way, I think begrudgingly respects me. He does what I tell him, at least.

"Yo Hel! What's he doing here?" Cade yelled loudly so that I would hear him from the workshop so I looked around and saw Daytrader, a large pickup truck with scores and scores of pieces of junk and tradable goods which he carries around on his back wherever he went. Sometimes he had some good stuff but mostly it was crap and he was constantly trying to get me to give up things that I'd built or brought in for my own work.

"Here comes the most irritating, annoying transformer on earth. Should I frag him?" Hound offered however I clapped my hands, drawing his attention as I walked past and shook a finger at him to tell him to not even think about it.

"Jesus, who let this guy in?" Wheelie questioned as he and Brains climbed up onto my table.

"Yeah, this moron can't even tell the difference between a plug and a socket." Brains agreed as I reached Cade and turned with my hands on my hips to face Daytrader as he grinded to a halt then transformed in front of us.

"Daytrader! The hell are you doing here?" Rex came scampering towards me and jumped at my feet, wanting to be picked up so I stooped down and lifted him off the ground before perching on my table, tickling his chin as he snuggled into my arm whilst Wheelie and Brains both sat on my shoulders.

"You find any useful junk this time? We got a whole load of Autobots in need one planet over you know." Hound said dryly as Daytrader hobbled forwards. "And I'm dying to get off this planet, so the sooner you get the word out to the others in hiding like you said you would, the better."

"Carbon monoxide and a small gasoline drinking problem will probably kill you much faster than waiting on this planet, my corporate comrade." Daytrader informed him with a false tone of friendliness which I abhorred.

"Back off!" Hound shoved Daytrader off of him and drew out his army knife to brandish it at the trader robot. "Get out of my face. You want to throw down with Hound?!"

"Tough guy, huh? Rude. How about you trying to carry all this stuff? See how tough you are then." Daytrader shot back as he started dropping things everywhere and I winced as something heavy fell on one of the cars I had been working on trying to fix so I could sell it for cash. That damn trader, I spent three weeks on that car. "Look what I found in buffalo. Starscream's head, ladies and gentlemen." Pulling down the head of Starscream I recoiled from it slightly, tensing as Wheelie commented on what an ugly bastard he still looked even when dead. I agreed but dead or not, I do not want that thing in my junkyard. "Look what I got here, new voice box for Bee."

"Is it gonna work this time?" Cade questioned as he took hold of the voice box and inspected it closely.

"I only got the good stuff, Cade, come on. Have a little more faith in me."

"You hear that, Bee? You're gonna talk, buddy!" Bumblebee started to play music and danced along to it, popping his moves and I couldn't help but smile as he danced, seeing his excitement before I turned my attention back to Rex who yawned in my arms and snuggled a little. They definitely got a little bigger since they hatched, heavier too. "Alright, what else you got?" We were hoping for a few more parts and maybe even some better tools since ours were beginning to go bust, however Daytrader had become distracted by something on the table.

"Where'd you get that piece of junk?" He asked, pointing down to it and I frowned as Cade looked to it with recognition yet surprise, picking it up off the table and rubbing it clean with his thumb. "A Knight of Iacon talisman in this dump? Nah, it's not real. Is it? No, definitely not. Hey, give it to me, I'll take it off you."

"You think I know what the hell this is?" Cade questioned, turning it over in his hands before looking up at Daytrader who looked like he was about to snatch that thing out of Cade's grasp. "How valuable? I know it's something, because it's got you licking your chops, you skank."

"Words hurt, Cade." Touching his chest in mock pain I narrowed my eyes and Daytrader flinched back from the glare before electing to explain. "There are exactly seven. Seven signs of the apocalypse and that talisman showing up here is numero uno. If that fancy pancake was real, I'd grab the spaceship and blow this dirt ball planet." He said to us bluntly and Cade glanced at me in alarm so I shook my head minutely, warning him not to hand it over. "Alright, I'm gonna go slather myself in oil. Turn your back, Drift, if it offends your sensibilities."

"Now that is something you can't un-see." Drift complained so as Daytrader started to walk away I slid down off my worktable and marched after him, still carrying Rex in my arms whilst Brains and Wheelie jumped off my shoulders.

"Daytrader." I made him stop and look back so I lifted a foot and pushed Starscream's head away from me. "Get this rust bucket out of my junkyard and if anybody catches you helping yourself to my stuff again, including the cars and their parts, I'll feed you to Grimlock. He's been looking for something good to chew on these past couple of days and you look like you'll make a tasty meal."

"Understood! Understood, I'll keep my fingers to myself." He promised however I didn't quite trust him so I told Bee to watch him and have him out of here within the hour.

"Hey! Hey, mister!"

"You have got to be kidding me." I groaned, putting Rex down and tapping his haunches to make him go so he raced off as I strode after Cade and this little girl who had suddenly popped up. "How did nobody notice some random girl wandering into the junkyard, huh? Drift, weren't you supposed to be watching the gates?"

"I watched them! No little girl 'wandered in'." He insisted so I pointed at him.

"Don't give me attitude. Cade!" I stalked after him, following him through the shop as he groaned.

"Oh, this isn't happening. You cannot stay here, kid, we got enough strays here already without adding you to the list." He informed her as I caught up with them and stood in his way, giving him an incredulous look that said 'I can't believe you let some little girl get past you' whilst throwing my hand out at her.

"Why is there a kid in my garage?!"

"I'm not a kid! I'm useful. I fix shit."

"Hey, hey." Snapping my fingers at her I gave her the same look I used on all the Autobots and she balked slightly, eyes widening in alarm as she froze. "Language, you are too young to be using those kind of words so watch your mouth whilst you're in my shop. Cade. Explain."

"Look I don't know, she just showed up! I found her and a bunch of other kids when I went out to check on that ship that got shot down early this morning in Chicago. I don't know how she snuck in here." He excused and I softened a little, asking him how it went with the newcomer however I knew it couldn't have been good, seeing as Cade didn't come back with him. "He didn't make it. He's the one who gave me that talisman thing."

"I'm sorry." Sympathetically I rubbed his arm to comfort him for a brief moment before I then punched him. "But that _still_ does not excuse the fact you missed a little girl sneaking into the jeep!"

"Hey, I got a name, you know." The dark haired girl interrupted so we both looked at her. Folding my arms I arched an eyebrow as she gave us both a look full of gutsy attitude. "It's Izabella. Izabella with a 'z'."

"I don't care if it's a 'z' an emoji or a dollar sign, alright?" Cade answered her back before trying to shoo her away with his hands like she were a bad smell or something. "This is no place for…just go home. Please."

"I don't got a home." Quietly I listened and watched her face, interested to see what she would do or say. Her face became clouded with hurt and pain, eyes glistening as a tear rolled down her cheek whilst she pointed to the outside with emotion thickening her voice and making it crack. "And they…they just killed the last thing that I called family. So no, I'm not going anywhere. I want to stay and I want to fight them." The both of us were silent for a while, observing her. In that little girl, I saw myself several years younger with the same process of thinking, but still, she was way younger than I was even when I had first met the Autobots, and she had nowhere and she now bore the same kind of pain I also felt, seeing someone you love die in front of you was something no teenaged girl should have to be burdened with and it made me empathise her on a deep level. So, my decision made, I slowly turned around, pausing briefly to speak to Cade.

"She stays." With that I walked away with a strong air about me even as Cade questioned and protested, shouting after me.

"What, are we taking in anybody who just walks in here?" Ignoring him I went back to work, wanting to finish my project before nightfall. For a while I didn't notice anybody watching me until I sensed someone close by just standing there so I looked up with my lens goggles to see Izabella's face magnified to the extreme. She giggled, amused at seeing my huge eyes behind the goggles so I pushed them up onto my head and gave her a smile.

"Hey there. Wanna come take a look?"

"Sure." She agreed and curiously came over to my desk. "Wow, what is this?"

"This is a new gadget I've been working on for a while now. When it's finished, it'll fit on m arm like this." Sliding my hand into the bracer I carefully pushed my arm through until it nestled neatly around my skin. "You see these sensory pads here on the glove? These will be what controls it. Clench my fist and it'll close, open it'll release." Demonstrating the bracer snapped around my arm to fit securely, the smooth deep silver gleaming as I lifted my arm and showed it to Izabella who inspected it with awe. "And this top part here? It opens up into a blaster and also has a grappling hook capable of holding something at least twenty times my weight. Pretty neat huh?"

"Yeah! That is amazing. I didn't even know we could build these kind of things yet." She breathed and I smiled, opening up my hand and took off the bracer to carefully set it back down again.

"Well, you stick around the Autobots long enough you pick up a thing or two." Swinging around in my chair I leaned forwards and laced my fingers together, inspecting her closely. "So you're a mechanic, right?"

"Yeah, I can fix up just about any Autobot, I'm really good at it but if you can teach me anything, I promise I'll do anything you want." Her eyes were sparkling at the idea of learning more about the Autobots and it made me smile distantly. She really does remind me of myself.

"We'll see kiddo. For the time being let's get you something to eat and a shower, you look like you've been through hell. You can borrow some of my clothes and I'll wash those for you." Instantly Izabella backed away and her face hardened, looking at me coldly so I tilted my head curiously by this reaction.

"I'm not a child so don't patronise me. I can take care of myself!" Arching an eyebrow I folded my arms and looked at her coolly, keeping my own temper under control as not to lose it.

"If I were you I would show a little more respect to the person who's letting you stay here. You so much as raise your voice or give me attitude again and I will have your ass back out there and you really will be on your own. You hear me? I have too many lives on my under my care to pander to you, kiddo, so, you wanna maybe rethink your tone just now?" Izabella paused, sensing that I was deadly serious and she nibbled on her lip before allowing her shoulders to go a little more lax.

"Sorry, I just don't expect much from people anymore." She said to me however I did not let it soften me, keeping a stern and cold eye fixated on her. "All I got left is Squeaks." Right on queue a little blue robot rolled into view, chattering at me with huge eyes with broken glass and a rusted cap and only one arm. "We take care of each other and it's been that way since my parents got killed."

"I see." Bending down I beckoned Squeaks over to me and he looked up at Izabella first before rolling forwards. "Well my little friend, you've certainly been in the wars." Inspecting him closely I lifted his good arm as well as his odd leg. "You've fixed him up with the wrong parts, that's why he can't transform and hide himself. His processor can't connect the foreign material and make it work with the schematics he's programmed with."

"We didn't have much choice, we just used what we could find." Nodding my head in understanding I stood back up and dusted off my hands.

"I'll work on him in the morning. Don't worry little guy, I'll have you back in shape in no time at all. Now, as for you. Shower, food, teeth, bed, go." I directed and Izabella momentarily stiffened, making to argue but she stopped herself before reluctantly obeying. I showed her to the shower, gave her a fresh towel and told her to use my toiletries as she needed them as well as giving her one of my shirts and a pair of shorts which should fit her. I'd collected a couple of spare clothes this past year, mostly from donation boxes and occasionally a few stray items got in with them. If they didn't fit, I could always find her something to tie them off like a belt.

"You sound like you've been doing this a long time." Izabella called to me from behind the screen as I sat outside on the sofa to keep watch and warn Cade if he came in and tried to go into the bathroom whilst only half awake.

"I'd say so, I've known some of these guys for over ten years." I answered her. "I was one of the kids who first discovered the Autobots had landed on our planet."

"Neat." Resting back my head for a while I closed my eyes, listening as the water continued to run until eventually it was switched off. There was the occasional shuffling of movement and rustling clothing before finally Izabella emerged and she stepped out in my shirt which dwarfed her smaller stature and I had to smirk slightly.

"You look cute. Here, I have a brush and some ties for your hair if you want. Sorry I don't have a hairdryer otherwise I'd offer it to you." Izabella accepted them gratefully and she started to brush through her wet hair which looked inky black from the water instead of chocolaty brown. Meanwhile I set about making food, cooking up something quick and easy and whilst I waited for the microwave to finish I fiddled with my necklace, rubbing the rings between my thumb and fingers and it seemed to draw Izabella's attention.

"What are they?"

"Hm?" Waking up from my daze I looked down, finding I was holding Ironhide's partially rusted cog wheel. "Oh, these are just mementos. They're all I have left of some of my family." I explained to her before dropping it down to let it settle around my neck, opening up the microwave door. "Voila, it's not much but we haven't had the chance to go out for food recently so I hope you like microwave meals."

"Love them." She responded and hungrily dug in, shoving the food into her mouth the moment I passed her a fork.

"Steady now, it's not going anywhere." I told her with a chuckle, sitting down on the recliner however when I noticed one of the curtains was a little charred and burned I frowned. "What the heck happened to the curtain?"

"Your baby tyrannosaurus spewed fire at it." Not even phased I shrugged my shoulders and made a mental note to keep Rex away from anything flammable from now on. "Those rings, they're from transformers aren't they." Having slowed down with her food, Izabella was looking at my necklace again. "Are they dead?"

"Yes, in all sense and purpose of the word, they are dead. Thank you for your courteous consideration and delicate phrasing. Now all I have left is the family out there." She frowned slightly before rolling her eyes. Damn, she was so much like me in attitude that I started to get annoyed at myself. Was I always such a little punk ass brat?

"What about your parents? Brothers? Sisters?" Okay, now she was prying. She should really remember her manners.

"I had a human friend once, but he's in witness protection programme and if I tried to go look for him, he'd get arrested and I would be shipped off to the nearest lab for all the scientists to start picking at my brain." Now Izabella was frowning at me, brow furrowed.

"But you have parents right? Don't they worry about where you are?" Gritting my teeth I slowly inhaled a breath as I forced my clenched fists to relax. If there was one thing I hated talking about, it's parents.

"I doubt they could care less and neither could I, quite frankly."

"That's bullshit." My eyes snapped towards her as she threw down her fork and it clattered to the ground. "At least you got parents, mine were killed by a Decepticon in the Chicago fight. Do you have any idea how _lucky_ you are to have parents at all? I'd give anything to have mine back but you just sit here and brush yours off like they're nothing. My mom and dad are _dead_ and nothing-"

"Yes but at least you know that your parents loved you." The sharp coldness of my tone made Izabella freeze and look at me with alarm at the darkness that swirled within my deep gaze. "My parents disowned me and I haven't seen them in ten years. You're the lucky one, Izabella, even though not the luckiest girl in the world, granted. Your parents loved you and you can go to sleep at night with a warm fuzzy feeling in your stomach whilst I get nothing but a cold rock, because my parents wouldn't care if I dropped dead right in front of them. So before you start ranting off at me with that self-righteous attitude and bad language which I warned you to work on, maybe you should stop and think that perhaps you don't have all the facts and that perhaps you're just a fourteen year old girl who doesn't know everything in the world." Rising to my feet I grabbed her a fresh fork and tossed it onto the table. "Eat your food, brush your teeth with the spare brush in the cabinet then choose a couch. I want you asleep within an hour. Blankets are in the cupboard there."

Izabella was silent as I left the shack and did the only thing that kept me calm. Work. With the lights on overhead I was able to keep on working after sunset and only stopped when Cade knocked to signal his presence. "Kid's asleep on the couch. She even tidied up a little."

"Hm." Inclining my head to signal I'd heard I continued working on the finer details of my arm bracer. This was the last piece until I had a full set of transformium armour and hopefully, it would better protect my body when in a fight. I do not want to be so helpless again should I lose my other body.

"Heard you guys arguing once or twice. Sounds like you two really clash heads."

"She's just got a lot on her mind. She's not a bad kid, in fact she's quite bright. I heard you quizzing her earlier on cauterizing wounds. Looks like you'll have an apprentice sooner or later." Snorting softly in mockery I gave Cade a look before smiling and focusing again. "I know you disagree with me allowing her to stay."

"Yeah, I disagree. It's not safe here for a kid her age. She should be in foster care with a stable family away from all this. I'm a father and I know that if that were my little girl sleeping in there, I would want her as far away from here as possible." He told me so I exhaled, putting down my tools and taking off my goggles.

"But she's not your kid, Cade, she's a girl who's already seen and felt way too much to be able to fit in with other normal fourteen year olds. You think she'll like being put into care? Come on, tell me that you can see her being happy in a place with a bunch of other kids who steal from each other and only make their lives more miserable for one another. Huh?" Gritting his teeth Cade turned his head away, knowing that I was right. "It might not be ideal, but for now we'll manage until we can think of something to do. As long as we can keep her hidden from TRF so that they don't know she's involved with us, we can still keep her future open."

"What about school? She needs to go to school and graduate before going to college, she needs to learn and study so that she can get a career when she's older!" He reasoned with me as I started to clear up and he followed around after me, still harassing me about my decision. "You didn't even ask me, you can't just make decisions like this on a whim without consulting with the rest of us first. We're a team, we work together on things!" Losing my temper a little I dropped the box I was carrying and whirled around to face him.

"This isn't a democracy Cade this is what we call a flexible dictatorship. My word is law anything concerning the Autobots is my call and mine alone, any input or complaints are considered, but when it comes down to the real icky shit, it's _my_ decision that is final and besides, I own this place. If I say that little girl can stay here, get a hot shower, a decent meal and a good night's sleep then she can damn well stay as long as she likes." Backing away in submission Cade lifted his hand, surrendering the argument. "I know we're a team Cade, I appreciate you all more than you can possibly imagine, but for someone who's only jumped onto the train at the last stop, you should maybe listen to the person driving the frigging train from the very beginning."

Grabbing the box off the floor I stalked away to finish clearing up and once I was done, I walked out into the cooling night air and pushed back my hair. I hated it when we argued like that, it made everything feel disjointed and out of place, not to mention awkward. "Damn it." Cursing at myself I went for a walk, wrapping up in a cardigan as I walked through the long stacks of cars. We had several Autobots crashing with us for the time being such as Crank, our resident crane and he helped me shift heavy things when they needed transporting. I patted his side as I walked past and he gave a clink of his chains in answer.

Eventually I made it to where the Dinobots camped and I smiled as I reached them, lifting my hand as they lowered their heads to me in turn and rubbed the tips of their noses affectionately. "Hey you guys. Thank you for behaving this afternoon. I appreciate it." They growled and chattered at me gently before Grimlock lay down and curled his tail around me, lifting me up to deposit me onto his side before lighting a fire at the centre of the rickety warehouse they used as a shed. They had refused to leave since we'd opened up the portal, even when I'd tried to guide them there. They'd all wailed and rejected the idea and came storming back here. Guess they were attached to the place, or maybe they just didn't want to leave us all behind. "I love you guys." I murmured before sliding down to settle against Grimlock's nose, rubbing it gently before lying down against him for some rest but the moment I'd closed my eyes, the others had moved in closer, wrapping tails and winding necks around me like a metal nest, making me smile before falling asleep.


	44. Chapter 44

Bright and early, a little before dawn, I started working on Squeaks. I wanted to make a peace trade with our little Izabella, so I worked my magic and went digging through all the trash heaps, brought in all the old style mopeds I could find and pulled them apart so that I could rebuild him from scratch even as the sun started to come up. "There we go, that's a good little guy." I praised as I carefully removed the broken pieces of glass from his eyes. "You're being so brave Squeaks, you know most of those big guys over there squeal like little pigs whenever I come near them with tweezers, you're sure showing them up." Squeaks chirped at me proudly and flexed his one arm which made me smile and laugh. "Yeah that's right, you show them how it's done."

I found it nice to talk to Squeaks as I worked, reassuring him whenever I changed tools or came at him with a blowtorch. "This might sting a little but not very much. You can hold onto my leg if you want to grip something, okay? Here we go, nice and easy…wonderful…brave little guy." Behind me I heard some quiet footsteps and from the reflection of Squeaks' eyes I could see Izabella watching me.

"You're so gentle and nice to them." She said to me quietly, lingering at the door of my workshop.

"Well they feel fear and pain just as much as we do, there's no reason why we shouldn't show them what compassion and care feels like. Here, grab that arm on the table, I'm going to fix it on him."

"Can I help?" Pausing for a second I looked at Squeaks before nodding my head.

"Sure, just be careful, I'm working on his infrastructure at the moment and if anything goes wrong, it won't be easy to fix." Picking up the arm I had built up for Squeaks this morning she held it in place for me whilst I measured it up, making sure everything would fit perfectly before I made her step back so I could use the blowtorch, fixing on my gloves securely before starting. "Easy Squeaks, try not to move. Do you have a song you like? If you ask our little Bella over there, she might play some music for you. I've got a large collection, so take your pick." I said to him and he nodded his head eagerly before doing his best to stand still as I welded his new arm on.

Izabella went over to my CD collection and picked something out, slotting it into the player then pressed play. Some generic song started to play, not one I recognised but it wasn't distracting and had a soft tone to it so I smiled behind my mask, focusing on my work. After I'd fixed the arm I then worked on the legs, taking another two hours to finish before I then gave him a quick paintjob so that he looked brand new. "There you go. All done Squeaks, you look adorable."

"Wow! Perfecto, you're perfect Squeaks, can you transform?" Squeaks circled around the shop in his excitement before streaking out into the open to show himself off to everyone and Cade called out a compliment, telling him he looked great before he started to shift and transform into a powder blue old model moped like something from the eighties, a Vespa, I think. "You even fixed the seat?!" Izabella rushed forwards and inspected him all over before laughing. "You are amazing at this, I could never have done all this so quickly!"

"Hey you work long enough in the same line of work, your hands get pretty nifty." I said, spinning a wrench up in the air before catching it and sliding it into my tool belt. Picking up a helmet I had lying around with a bunch of others, I walked up to her and crammed it on her head. "Go for a ride, just don't leave the yard okay? Squeaks, keep her safe okay, I don't want any grazed knees."

"Affirmative!"

"Squeaks, you talk!" Smiling I waved them off as Squeaks zipped forwards for a ride, Izabella laughing and squealing. That voice really was squeaky, he was aptly named. Heading back I washed my hands from the oil and grime until they were clean, tidying up and putting things away. Thus far, I've completed all my projects. Looks like I'll have to find something new to occupy myself with now. Making my rounds I checked on all registered Autobots crashing in my junkyard, making sure that those who were in recovery were healing up okay and checking general health as well. Izabella streaked past me at one point, still hooting with laughter as Squeaks brought her back to the shop whereby Cade then waved her over.

"Hey, Zee, come on over here and work on a real bot." He invited so she quickly hopped off of Squeaks and took off her helmet, rushing forwards to give a hand whilst Squeaks transformed back again.

 _"Doc, come in doc."_ Bumblebee waved her over and Cade handed her the tools to disconnect Bee's voice box. As they worked I sat in the control area with all my computers and screens, keeping an eye on the activity in the atmosphere and anything entering.

"That's it. No, third one on your left. No. Wait. Your left. Right here." Cade fussed as he closely watched what Izabella was doing and she gave him a stony glare.

"I know what I'm doing. Don't. Rush me."

"Hey, calm the temper, okay?" Checking her attitude Cade tapped gently against Bee. "Think he likes this? It's like being in a dentist's chair. Do you like the dentist? No." With a quiet chuckle to myself I zoned out of their conversation to focus on my scans. Everything seemed normal for the moment, in fact transformer arrivals had dwindled these past few months. The ship that got shot down yesterday was actually the first one we'd had in three weeks. Maybe things are starting to finally calm down. If that was the case, maybe I can think about approaching the government and informing them that there was no need to shoot any transformers anymore, that Autobots could be transferred safely off this planet with no conflict. I had considered it before but my instincts had always told me that they would just arrest me and seize all the technology I had built as well as taking down everyone here.

"Okay, Bee. Come on, buddy, sit up. Let's hear it." Catching my attention I leaned back in my swivel chair, craning my neck to see as Bumblebee sat up. "Come on. Your real voice for the first time, buddy. Belt it out." Watching and listening in anticipation, Bumblebee tugged at his neck before finally speaking in his own words, just not necessarily his own voice.

 _"This is so exciting. Oh, no. This isn't my damn voice."_ The monotonous female voice had me reeling with laughter, spluttering uncontrollably until I fell backwards off my chair but still laughed.

"I'm gonna kill him, Bee." Cade swore, shaking his head in disappointment.

 _"This is such bullshit."_

"Okay, you know what? I'm not giving up, alright? You're gonna speak with your own voice one day." Promising Bumblebee to make it work, my favourite yellow robot punched the worktable with that same toneless and mechanical sounding voice which still had me giggling as I picked myself up and wiping the tears from my face.

 _"Daytrader is a punk ass bitch."_ Finally he ripped out the voice box and threw it away, forcing me to duck and lift my hands instinctively to shield myself.

"Whoa now, easy big guy, easy. Come on, lie back down and I'll fix your old one back in. Come on, lie down. There we go." Still smiling with laughter I slipped the old voice box back into place and secured it. "There we go. I'm sorry Bee, I know you were excited about this, I'll wrangle Daytrader next time we see him and I'll make him make good on his promise."

 _"Thanks…though I'd quite like…to just pulverise to ass…and be done with it."_ He muttered so with a chuckle I brushed my hand against his face before swooping down and kissing him lightly.

"Patience Bumblebee, patience." He hummed at me softly, looking at me like he had stars in his eyes and I smiled over my shoulder to him before heading out into the sunlight, lifting my hand to block against the sun and scan the junkyard, breathing in the smell of old metal and rust which I had grown extremely used to this past year.

"Alert. Alert. Unknown vehicles on approach." Whirling around I ran to the control station as Brains and Wheelie got there.

"Aw nuts, the feds found us." Wheelie cursed as I brought up the images to see not only the TRF but Decepticons coming for us as well. Holy crap, this is bad.

"Emergency evacuation. NOW!" Thundering in my loudest voice I slammed my hand on the alarm and a blaring siren started to wail, alerting everyone to the danger. "I want the road heading eastbound covered. Grimlock, Slug it's on you. All refugee Autobots get into gear and head due northwest to the portal. Brains, you and Wheelie go with them and guide them. I'll follow behind to cover you with Strafe and Scorn. CADE! Grab your stuff and get moving, we're out of here in sixty seconds." Belting out orders I gave a sharp whistle to summon the baby Dinobots and when they came running to me I picked them up and put them into the back of one of the refugee Autobots and although they whined and tried to cling onto me I hurriedly smiled and rubbed their heads and necks. "It's okay, it's okay, we're gonna get you out of here. I promise, you're going to be fine."

After untangling myself I slapped the side once and the pickup shot forwards, Brains and Wheelie at the front as the other refugees followed. "Scorn! You and Strafe go with them, I'll activate the portal and you _have_ to go through, you understand? No coming back, you have to get to the other side or they are going to kill you." They growled and snorted slightly before turning and chasing after the refugees and I hurriedly rushed into the shack, grabbing my emergency bag before racing around the back. "Bumblebee, Drift, Cross! You guys go with Cade and draw the Decepticons to the abandoned town a few miles down the road. Go now!"

"What about you?"

"I said MOVE IT!" Everything was moving so quickly that nobody had time to argue. "Bella? Izabella come here, come here kiddo, okay you and Squeaks stay with Cade. You are to listen to him and do everything he says without question, this is life and death do you understand me?"

"Yes." She nodded, breathing a little erratically so I gave her my emergency back then lifted her up into the jeep with Cade who yelled for us to get a move on. "Squeaks, come on Squeaks." I helped Squeaks up too, making sure he was secure before banging on the jeep and yelling for Cade to drive just as the drone flew overhead, picking up our visual and I swore colourfully as I raced to the control space.

"Hound get ready, I'm gonna need your help stalling them!"

"You betcha, I got a full tank fuelled and ready to go!" He answered. I grabbed the main computer and activated the portal, sending an emergency signal to Sideswipe so that the bridge activated on their side before I disconnected what I needed and carried the small handheld laptop over to one of the sheds, ripped back a covering and revealed my beautiful car, fully fixed and ready to go. The smooth metallic red glistened with sparkles which I had painted onto the body with bright neon purple, green, white and blue patterns on the sides, the interlocking zigzags and bolts creating an intense scene.

Dragging open the door I safely tucked the computer into the glove compartment before closing my eyes and merging with my familiar other body. Ripping out of the shed I transformed, running forwards before coming to a halt before a set of cars which I tossed aside and activated the charges just as Megatron and his team arrived. The ground in several areas exploded and huge car stacks were toppled over, crushing them underneath with most of the blasts boxing them in. "Now Hound!"

"Take this you little bitches!" Bellowing as he leaped up and flung his heaviest arsenal at Megatron in particular, I activated the electromagnetic charges that I had lying in my workstation and activated them all before flying the disks at the Decepticons and each disk latched on before releasing a powerful torrent of electricity which sent them crashing to the ground. With a few more grenades from Hound to create cloud cover I raced away as fast as I could.

"Get out of here Hound, hurry! Follow me to the space bridge!"

"Roger that!" Folding down the both of us headed out however with my superior speed I bolted after the refugees, very quickly catching them up, however so had one of the TRF teams. I came up behind them and partially shifted, opening up my sides and released several missiles up their back ends, sending their cars flipping onto their rooftops before I streaked past them with my sleek form. Ahead the portal was active and the refugees started to slip through however the TRF vehicles ahead open fired and several of them were caught.

"Strafe! Take out those top guns!" I ordered, swerving to avoid fire from behind and hitting the brakes so that I could swerve and swing myself into reverse, driving backwards and out of my trunk rose a large machine gun which I open fired upon them, aiming to take out their tyres to minimise collateral damage. Strafe screeched as he came down from the sky and used his tail to grab the closest gun and drag it into the others whilst Scorn swung his great head around and struck the others and within seconds, we'd taken out the entire escort however that did not include the humans. They were rallying and grabbing their weapons to open fire.

Transforming I grabbed Scorn's head and pulled him around. "Go, you need to go. I'll get Grimlock and Slug through but then I have to close the portal and get the pillars out of here. I'll see you again soon I promise, but you have to go!" Heeding my urgent tone both Strafe and Scorn raced for the portal as I held the ground, drawing a shield and preparing to hold off the humans, however when I heard a crackle of energy I turned my head to find Sideswipe, Dino and numerous other Autobot warriors come leaping through the portal.

"Protect Helen, flank her!" Sideswipe ordered and everyone immediately came to my side and formed a line either side of me. "So, what are our orders concerning these humans? Shall we terminate?"

"Hold them off, non-lethal shots and keep them away from the pillars. Protect the pillars at all costs and upon my signal, evacuate with the last refugees."

"Right! Autobots, defend the pillars!" With my orders given I allowed myself to recover from the rush of emotions at having to suddenly evacuate and fight off invaders. With the humans now greatly outnumbered the Autobots pushed them back, defending the pillars as several missiles were fired at them in an attempt to cut off our escape route.

"Come on Grimlock, Slug, you know the plan. Where are you?" I whispered to myself, scanning for them as I shielded one of the pillars with my massive shield, knocking aside any incoming attacks until finally I heard a roar. Grimlock was charging forwards with Slug thundering at his side, both of them coming straight for the portal. "Sideswipe, cover the Dinobots, go!"

"Dino, Roadblock, Smokescreen, with me!" He called and all four of them raced over the ground to protect and escort Grimlock and Slug as the birds in the sky turned on them, the jet having raced to our location at our opponents' signal and started to blast at them. Grimlock was knocked off his feet, crashing into the ground and rolling over his back however he brushed it off easily, roaring and releasing a burst of flames at the jet before jumping up and snatching it out of the sky in his jaws, the pilot having no choice but to eject out of there as he bit it apart in his massive jaw before spitting it out.

"Thank god." Folding down I returned to my human body and pulled out the laptop, furiously tapping the keys. Grimlock gave a wailing call to me as he passed, almost as if to save goodbye before he dove headfirst into the portal with Slug and the last I saw of them were their tails. "Alright, everybody pull back now, back through the portal so I can close it!"

"We cannot leave you here undefended, they will kill you!" Sideswipe insisted but I gave him a hard look.

"That is a risk I am willing to take. Now hurry up and take your team through so I can close the portal from this side, I am _not_ going to let them hurt you. Not this time. GO!" Jerking back Sideswipe quickly bowed his head before sounding the retreat and everyone pulled back, still firing upon TRF until the last second. Once the last Autobot was through I closed the portal down, holding my breath as bullets sparked off my car, bouncing off the reinforced armour and glass without even leaving a scratch however upon seeing I wasn't answering back with retaliation, they started to push forwards. "Come on, come on, come on please." Finally the bright blue light dissipated and rushed back into the pillars, closing off the gateway.

Exhaling with relief, I closed the lid of the laptop and prepared to transfer again, however when a huge shadow loomed overhead, all eyes turned skyward to the giant ship which hovered above us. With a laugh, I could see Hound in the pilot's seat, rather clumsily piloting the ship with the front guns trained on the humans. Transforming myself I quickly rushed to grab the pillars, taking all four before activating my boosters and flew to the rear where Hound opened the door for me. "Genius Hound! You're a life saver, a real hero! Thank you thank you thank you!" I laughed ecstatically and he smirked smugly as he smoked his cigar.

"Damn right I am. Let's go rescue those other idiots of ours." Grinning in agreement I took the pillars and carefully secured them, making sure they were undamaged and safe before I tucked them away. At least we can activate the portal elsewhere now. Hound flew us to the abandoned town, however upon seeing the situation with all the drones in the sky, I made him set the ship down and I flew out the back, rising up into the air and scanning until I found Cade. God damn him that stupid son of a…he's going to get himself killed!

"Jump Cade!" I yelled to him and he looked up and around, trying to spot me but didn't hesitate to do as I'd said. He leaped from the building he was running across, yelling loudly however I dove down and arced around to easily catch him with one hand and used the other to shoot at the drones, taking them down one by one before I flipped myself over and angled my feet to the ground to land, sliding backwards with a final blast at the mother drone.

"Ugh…jeez, am I glad to see you. See you fixed your body, looks good."

"You are impossible, even by human standards. What the hell were you doing on a building ten storeys up?"

"I was pushed out of the elevator after meeting a metal leprechaun." He explained briefly as he caught his breath. Pulling a face I put him down on the ground then folded back up to get out my car and perch on the hood, trying to figure out exactly what it was he had said. Leprechaun, I hadn't imagined him saying that, right?

"Little gnats." Crosshairs grunted in disgust and shot down the last two drones just as a silver droid like figure came running rather athletically towards us.

"Oh, there you are, good to find you alive! It's like nothing happened." He declared before retrieving an air spray from…somewhere and started to blast at Cade's clothes to get rid of all the dust. "Let's make you presentable."

"Hey! Come on!"

"Shiny, spic and span." Okay, I feel like I missed something major here. There really is a metal leprechaun. I should really have learned by now to just take things at face value if it's anything alien, because usually the simple truth was exactly what it sounded like.

"Back off, Jeeves!"

"There. You look better already, sir."

"Who are you?" Pushing off the unwanted fuss and attention, Cade took a wary step back then looked to me for help, gesturing incredulously towards the droid like robot however I was enjoying this way too much to interrupt so I just smirked.

"My name is Cogman, sir, and I am here because of that, and that is here because of you." He explained, pointing to the ground where the talisman from before lay. Looking to it warily before slowly bending down to pick it up and the moment it came into contact with his skin it became alive and rushed up his arm, making him wince and grunt in pain and immediately I stood upright, my heeled combat boots clicking against the ground as I strode forwards and ripped back his sleeve to see the talisman attaching itself to him. My god. "It will not leave you until your quest is fulfilled. You have been chosen."

"What do you mean, 'chosen'?"

"I will explain everything if you'll kindly come with me." Cogman said before turning and giving me a polite bow. "The lady is, of course, also invited to attend. Greetings my lady, excuse my rudeness for not acknowledging you sooner. My name is Cogman and I am at your service."

"Hello Cogman, my name is Helen." I answered a little slowly, unsure of how to take this.

"Eh, Cade, what's with this C-3PO rip off?" Crosshairs questioned, punching a fist into his palm and reached out to pick him up however before he had even made contact, Cogman thrust up his hand and held off Cross, making me blink in shock before he then grabbed a finger and twisted it at a rather painful looking angle.

"Don't kill the messenger or the messenger will kill you." Jesus Christ this is one crazy ass robot and with all the robots I've come into contact with, that's saying something. Letting go of Crosshairs he fell onto his side, yelling in pain at his twisted finger however Cogman just dusted himself off and resumed his proud upright position, smartly holding one side of his lapel like fold. "Now then, I'm afraid all this ballyhoo is on your account, Master Cade. If you want to save your friends, you will leave them."

"What, and run off with some crazy ninja butler?" Cade demanded as I stood next to him, looking behind me to where Izabella and Squeaks were rushing towards us.

"Your friends will be safe in your absence. In your presence, unsafe. You are more important than you can possibly imagine. You are needed, sir. Urgently. My master is fond of saying that all the important decisions in life often come down to just one moment." Cogman reminisced before walking away from us, leaving us perplexed and confused. I looked back down at the talisman, trying to find any distinguishing markings however all I could tell was that it was ancient, predating even Cybertronian language that I could tell.

"We gotta go. You know how this ends up, something goes wrong and somebody has to save the world." Cade said to me and I nodded my head in agreement, however I did not like the idea of leaving Izabella behind on her own. Turning to face her, Cade spoke to her first, gripping her arms as he crouched down in front of her.

"You're gonna be alright. You're family now and they're gonna take care of you, I promise." He assured her, giving her hair a ruffle before walking towards Cogman. Walking forwards I gave her a smile before pinching her cheek gently.

"Guess you're not so bad after all. We'll be back, okay kiddo? We just have to go take care of some stuff and then we'll be back." Feeling spontaneous I stepped closer and gave her a hug and I was pleasantly surprised when she wrapped her arms around me in turn. She gave me a tight squeeze before pulling back and Squeaks lifted up my emergency back which I took and slung over my shoulder with a smile at him. "Hound? She's your responsibility in my absence. You protect her and please remember to get her food. You know where to hide, just don't kill each other before I get back."

"The plane is waiting, ma'am. We are going to England." England? Why are we…? Never mind, I'll ask later.

"Just a moment. Cross? You're not in charge before you get any ideas, I still run this show, so sit tight until I get back. Bumblebee? You're with us." Nodding his head Bumblebee followed me to the plane which Cogman was standing before, however as I drove up in my beautiful dark red and neon car with a glittery body, he regarded it with obvious distaste but kept his comments to himself. After strapping down the car I sat down on one of the numerous seats and exhaled. We were lucky today, somebody could have been killed. If we hadn't received that three minute warning, we could have been dead.

"Welcome to Air Folgan please strap in, turbulence can kill. There will be no snack service on this flight, no drinks, no fun."

"Killjoy." I murmured and resigned to closing my eyes and trying to get some sleep instead whilst Bee hummed at me with gentle words before starting to play me our favourite songs, including the ones that were special to us like 'Lean on Me' by Bill Withers, 'You are My Sunshine', 'I Will Always Love You', songs that he always played for me to make me smile and peaceful and in this moment I needed it, because in my heart I could feel something strange happening. It was like something was narrowing the bridge between myself and Optimus, but not only that, it was like there was a wall of static which I could not push through. I was worried, but I told myself it was probably because he was so far out of range for our bond to connect us. At least, that's what I hoped.


	45. Chapter 45

When we ended up walking through the beautiful grounds that lead up to a rather exquisite Tudor looking castle, I was glad for not wearing stilettoes on the grass and wearing somewhat suitable shoes. The black boots rose up to my ankle with laces, making me at least a few inches taller than usual. Admiring the luscious green grass I nearly jumped out of my skin when something blew up behind us. Was it a mine or was something shooting at us? Wait, is that a tank up there? "Um, Cogman, mind explaining where we are?"

"All in good time my lady, apologies for the rude welcome." He answered, leading us up the path towards an older man with soft snowy white hair and a warm smile as he held onto a dog's leash with a veteran Autobot behind him picked up the pieces that were falling off him.

"Hello there!" We were greeted with mirth and a smile, however Bumblebee was none too impressed.

 _"What the hell?"_

"I'm awfully sorry about that, but, um, you see, he thinks it's still the year nineteen eighteen or nineteen fourteen. Something like that." The old man started to babble whilst Cade and I just stood there, looking at him blankly. "World War One and all that stuff. I mean…Battle of the Marne, Battle of the Somme, Battle of the Marne, Battle of Passchendaele. Trenches and mud and death and gore and all that. It's terribly sad. 'It's a long way to Tipperary, it's a long way to go'. Yes, but it's, um…it's terrible! I mean, so sad, you know? But then, I mean..." Continuing to babble I looked across to Cogman who tilted his head and screwed his finger by his ear to signal that it wasn't just me who thought this guy was a little cuckoo. "Isn't it? I mean, this late onset of, um, well…robot dementia." He whispered the last part before lifting his pipe. "It's not at all pretty."

"Well…" Cade begun, looking as dumbfounded as I felt. "I don't know what you're smoking in that pipe man, but what's going on here? Did you drag us to some transformer retirement home?" He questioned however when no one answered he upped the tone a little. "Look, somebody better start talking, or I'm outta here."

"Whoa, whoa. Okay. Um, Bumblebee?" Yet again to my surprise, our supposed host turned to Bumblebee and started talking directly to him. "We only met when I was a little boy in short pants. I must have been that tall. Maybe taller. Or maybe shorter, I can't remember, but never forget a face." He declared whilst making height proportions with his hands.

"Bee, you know this guy?"

 _"I don't…know…you."_ His voice worked through the stations so I placed my hand upon his leg, giving a reassuring pat as all attention was turned towards the talisman which the old man pointed to with his rather expensive looking cane.

"Let's have a look at this thing, please. Very interesting." Inspecting it for a few seconds, a distant smile rose to his face as his eyes turned to Cade. "You keep a secret for so long, knowing it to be true, and yet, deep down inside you begin to wonder has my life been wasted? Have you ever felt like that, Mr Cade?"

"It's just Cade. Look, old timer, I don't have a ton of patience for riddles right now."

"Yes, but you want to know, don't you _dude,_ why they keep coming here to earth. Right?" He reasoned and I arched an eyebrow.

"If you have answers, we would like to hear them please." I requested, finally speaking up and the old man beamed as he turned to me.

"Ah yes! The lovely Helen Clarkson, I have been hearing many things about you, quite remarkable. It is an honour, a privilege and a pleasure to make your acquaintance." He said to me with rather handsome manners as he lifted my hand and gave it a little squeeze as he bowed his head over it in greeting. At first I was stunned before I relaxed and gave a smile in reply.

"I bet you were a real ladies' man back in your prime sir, you've still got the charm to woo a lady." I said however Bumblebee flicked out his hand and shook it, making the gentleman let me go as he spoke.

 _"Hey now…don't be getting frisky with my girl."_ It took everything I had in me to not splutter and snort, both at the fact that Bumblebee had just declared that I was spoken for and the look on Cade's face. It was so priceless I couldn't even put into words. I was about to make a comment to Bumblebee about being rude and to not be so overprotective and jealous when the loud thrum of an engine reached our ears and the old man lifted his head.

"Ah! I do so love perfect timing." He declared and we all looked around to see a black and orange Lamborghini come shooting up the drive before transforming halfway up, releasing a woman who rolled along the ground before scrambling to pick up a weapon which I think turned out to be a polo stick. "What a bitchin' car she is!"

"So, is this a kidnapping sort of situation or her first transformer experience?" Cade questioned as the poor woman tried to fight off the transformer with her polo stick to very little end.

"It's both, really." He mused and I looked at him in alarm. "But she does have a rather nice fight-or-flight response." What kind of a response is that?!

"She's very difficult!" The transformer yelled across to us with a thick French accent, however when the woman went rolling down the hill I rushed forwards and went after her, expertly descending with a leaping summersault at the end before crouching down at her side.

"It's okay! It's okay, you're safe, I'm human, you're safe, no one's going to hurt you." I reassured her, holding up my hands to show no weapon. "See? Human. Flesh and bone just like you."

"Oh my god, that thing just kidnapped me!"

"Yes, I seem to find myself in a similar situation, though could say we were coerced into coming here." I mused before offering her my hand and helping her to her feet. "These transformers are Autobots, they won't hurt us. In fact the yellow one up there is one of my oldest friends, so there's no need to panic."

"I think there is a very good reason to panic, thank you very much."

"Admit it though, aren't you just a tiny little bit interested in why you're here?" I asked and she paused a minute, glancing at me then back up at the transformer who had brought her here before rather proudly lifting her chin. She had very fine features, refined and well groomed as she was, I guess you could call her a rather traditional looking English Lady. Stalking forwards she tried to climb back up the hill however her heels made it impossible so I grabbed her hand and helped pull her up after she'd taken them off, her legs struggling to push herself up on her own.

"Pardon mademoiselle, I did not mean to scare you." The transformer tried however the woman stormed away from him, leaving me behind to frown and watch her walk away. "What? What is it I said?"

"I think it's more the fact you kidnapped her." I informed him before chuckling. "Don't worry, I'm sure she'll get over it." With that I headed on inside where I was offered the chance to refresh myself and I gratefully accepted. I took a shower, washed and blow dried my hair which then fell in soft waves down my back, eyes of dark hazel looking back at my reflection as I pulled on the dress that I had been given by Cogman. I wasn't usually one for dresses, especially one so smart and respectable looking, however I did not want to be rude and refuse so I pulled it on anyway. Instantly it hugged against my figure and the deep scoop amplified what little chest I had with its cut and shape. The ivory material complimented my skin and I felt a little embarrassed as I looked at myself, tugging at the hem, however when I opened the shoebox I almost gasped when I looked inside. Beautiful platform stiletto lace ups in ivory suede with an open toe and lace decoration. They were so beautiful that I could not get them on my feet fast enough.

Feeling a little more confident with these shoes I fluffed up my hair and let it fall naturally before I opened up the door and headed downstairs to where Cogman had instructed me to go. Cade was already there in a fresh set of clothes and I had half expected him to have been given a tux or something, however he just wore a plain black shirt and jeans. "Ah, lovely. Yes, quite lovely, wouldn't you say so Bumblebee?" Our host questioned as Bee stuck his head in through the window. He wolf whistled at me and I bowed my head under the attention, not smiling. "But I see you are not comfortable, forgive me, I simply presumed all ladies enjoyed pretty dresses. I must be an old codger indeed." He said to me warmly so I quickly tried to recover.

"No, no, the dress is beautiful and the shoes are absolutely _gorgeous_ , I haven't had shoes like these since…well since a while ago, it's just I have a very particular sense of style. Right Bee?"

 _"That's right…if it ain't…glittery…or bright neon…then it ain't…Helen."_ Smiling at him I felt a little better as he then sighed dreamily and just looked at me so I shot him a look and took a seat as the other woman entered as well, also dressed up however her frock was black.

"Now that we are gathered, we may begin. My name is Edmond Burton, twelfth Earl of Folgan, last surviving member of the Order of the Witwiccans." The woman sent a sour look over towards Cade before then at the transformer who had kidnapped her earlier.

"Does he have to loom like that?" She asked, shifting in her seat and tugging at her dress. In answer the robot said something, however not even I could follow. There was a brief exchange of grunts and devolved sounds before finally Burton cut in.

"Hot rod. It's his French accent."

"Is he French?"

"No, he just likes the accent."

"No, no, no!" Hot Rod protested rather strongly and I couldn't help but smile at him as he defended himself but his accent only got thicker the more he spoke with aggravation. "I hate the accent but I cannot get rid of it. I'm stuck with the accent!"

"He's a soldier, Miss Viviane. He swore an oath to your father to protect you." Burton explained and I arched an eyebrow, carefully scanning the room which was full of books, however there were hidden details that I started to notice. Coats of arms similar to that of the talisman, artefacts that were passable as human made but had hints of alien quality to them, books from ancient history with alien insignias and even the pictures on the walls were painted with transformers despite them being hundreds of years old.

"Some dad you got there. That is a nice ride. I mean, you can roll right up to Buckingham Palace in that thing." Cade said and I stopped everything I was doing, freezing in place before I turned a look on him, silently asking how dumb could he be.

"Okay, you, American man, shut it." Viviane ordered shortly however that didn't sit well with me either. Nobody puts Baby in the corner. "What am I doing here?"

"Yeah, why is she here?"

"Introductions." Burton declared, moving around the back of the sofas before pointing with his cane towards Viviane, or rather Miss Prissy-and-Prude as I like to think of her at this very moment.

"Miss Viviane Wembly. Master of history, Oxford. Doctor of philosophy, also Oxford and doctor of letters, again Oxford, I think. Anything else?" He frowned, looking to Cogman before swiftly moving on. "Beside you is Miss Helen Clarkson. Disowned from her parents, a fugitive of the American government for six years running, known Autobot sympathiser, wanted across the world for aiding and abetting Autobot existence on Earth and currently leader of what can be considered the most dangerous group of all time, aside from Decepticons, of course." Viviane stared at me so I cleared my throat uncomfortably. "Anyway, meet Cade." Silence.

"Yeager. Cade Yeager." Cade completed for Burton, shooting him a look and I did feel sorry for the guy. "I'm an inventor."

"Oh, you're an inventor." Viviane questioned with obvious disdain.

"Yes, I am."

"What have you invented?"

"A lot of things."

"Like?"

"Like a lot of things. Like...things that you've heard of." Floundering a little I felt even more sympathetic to him, however I was smirking at the same time because I will admit, I do enjoy watching other people suffer in awkward situations and this is just another moment too juicy to pass up. The tension in here was unreal.

"Like?"

"Well, things that you will have heard of, okay? Patents are pending." Cade finished, trying to end the conversation there, however Viviane gave a mock sound of understanding.

"Ah."

"Ah? Don't say that. What's 'ah'?" He demanded before only making things worse for himself. "You know, I could do that, too. 'Oh, I'm English and I'm too cool for feelings', what, I've come here to be insulted by some over educated ivory tower princess in a stripper dress?" Holding his hand out her whilst looking at Burton for an explanation, the older gentleman merely frowned.

"Well, only in _America_ is a finer education an insult and if my dress makes you feel uncomfortable, then maybe I could take it off." She suggested and I felt the tension in the room at least double. Sexual tension, it's as clear as day, people. There is sexual tension in this room and it was getting astronomical.

"Okay."

"That's enough!" Cogman suddenly raced across the room and leaped upon Cade, making me arch an eyebrow as the chair was toppled over with Cade still in it, kicking and thrashing so I leaned to the side curiously to watch, unfazed. "Shall I take his head off, madam?" He offered with utter seriousness and only then did I become slightly alarmed and concerned for Cade's welfare.

"Tempting, but I can defend my own honour." Viviane said sweetly and I resisted the urge to punch her.

"But I do so very much want to crush his windpipe."

"Control, Cogman. You must learn to control that impulse. Channel it into other things." Burton instructed and Cogman slowly let Cade go, my friend coughing and spluttering on the ground as Cogman walked around and lifted the chair back up into its upright position as he spoke.

"Yes, my lord. Like making beds or cooking food. Polishing the silver. I am trying, my lord." He insisted despondently before walking away and Cade watched him leave, massaging his throat.

"That dude is disturbed, okay? Like, seriously evil. Like, split personality."

"And once again we see a perfect example of the most basic composition of language." Viviane mused to herself, sipping at her cup of tea daintily so I shifted in my seat to turn towards her, giving her a cold smile as I draped my arm over the back of the sofa.

"Do you think you could perhaps lose that bitchy attitude of yours before I end up slapping it off? It is really starting to grow old." Lifting her eyes as if she had only just realised I had spoken, Viviane finished her tea before putting it down and turning to face me also, signalling she was ready to argue.

"Forgive me but I find it more tiresome when I am faced with ordinary people who refuse to see the importance of higher education, and scornful, overeating Americans I disdain more than most." She replied to me, twiddling with her hair. "At least Mr Yeager over there is in _some_ line of work, whilst you are a wanted criminal. I should report you to the authorities this moment. Tell me, did you even graduate from your school or did you drop out to run around with little alien robots?" Out of the corner of my eye I saw Burton smirk as he perched himself on the arm of Cade's chair, leaning down to whisper to him.

"I do love a good cat fight. Most exciting."

"First off, even with your limited and rather ignorant experience and view of the Autobots, the last word you could use to describe them is 'little'. Second of all, I am an alumni graduate of Princeton University and had the choice of any Ivy League school I wanted, including Oxford which I applied for. So actually, I am not as uneducated as you presume. Bitch." Her lips tugged slightly into a smirk as her eyebrows lifted with doubt.

"Oh really? And what did you study at this prestigious university of yours?" She questioned so I lifted my chin.

"Physics and Astronomy joint honours, graduated with a First and at the top of my class. I am also a qualified mechanic with a specification in space technology. Which, in case you do not understand, means space shuttles, satellites and long range communication." Her bravado started to crumble a little so I continued just for the sake of it. "And to fill the gaps in your information, a posh way of saying FYI, the reason I am a wanted criminal is because I save the lives of Autobots and lost transformers who land here on Earth who would otherwise be murdered by the TRF and anyone willing to shoot a gun at them. Do not test me, _Miss_ Wembly. If you knew or even could comprehend half the things that were going on right now, you would not be wearing such a smug little expression like the one you're wearing now and if you knew even a portion of everything I have seen and faced, you would know that I don't back down from privileged Oxford ass hats such as yourself." Rising to my feet I smoothed down my dress and drew back my shoulders. "Now, if you gentleman are quite finished gawking, how about you show us what you brought us all the way out here to show us?"

"Quite right." Burton agreed then started on the tour, showing us his family portraits all with questionable history and a common theme of madness. I started to look around as I found more and more things that revolved around the transformers, gently touching a framed photograph before I stopped, looking at one of Sam. My Sammy. It was his old profile picture and it made me smile as I lifted it up and tenderly brushed my thumb against the glass.

"There's bullet holes."

"Uh-uh. No, no. Nasty critter. No, no, no." Burton hurriedly went to Vivian and took away the dome glass ornament to carefully set it down. "That's the watch that killed Hitler. Don't screw with it." Somebody give that critter a medal. "These are all the Witwiccans. In our halcyon days we were quite the club. Brilliant minds, explorers, scientists, artists, world leaders. Renaissance thrill seekers. People like Catherine the great, Empress of all Russia. General Washington, William Shakespeare, Queen Elizabeth of England, Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, the Wright brothers, Giotto, Michelangelo, Darwin, Churchill, Einstein, Stephen Hawking, Henry V, Leonardo Da Vinci, Newton, de Lavoisier, Mozart, Beethoven, Mahler, Edmund Hillary, Teddy Roosevelt, Copernicus, Tesla, Galileo. They all belonged to a secret society, you see. All united in one cause. To protect the secret history of transformers." My mind reeled from all the names he listed off, still holding Sam's picture against me as I gazed around in wonder.

Moving over to a huge family tree I looked over the branches and the names as Burton explained it to us. "Here. On earth. Now, this is the Witwiccan family tree. Merlin, Viviana. Goes back forty generations." He said before gesturing towards his desk. "Go over to that desk, there's a photograph there." Viviane did as he suggested and almost immediately slid out a photo. "Your father was a member. He very much wanted to tell you that." Burton said to her before he too looked around in wonder at this historic room. "And my own family had some...small part in all this." With a smile I put Sam's photo back on its stand, brushing my fingers against it one more time before moving away, clutching at my necklace.

"Zee-Bee-Seven. That looks just like Bee." Cade noted so I went over to his side to look at the World War Two poster of an army like Bumblebee.

"It is. He was attached to the Devil's Brigade. Pretty vicious military unit. Helped turn the tide of war, you know?" Burton informed us before telling us about one particular raid where Bumblebee had become so enthused about killing Nazis that he'd destroyed an entire mansion.

"Bee?" We both questioned blankly.

"Yeah."

"But he's so nice."

"Behind the lines during the war, they called him many things. Nice was never one of them." Okay, that sent one or two shivers down my back and I had to shake them off before following after Burton. "It all began in four eighty four AD, when King Arthur and his wizard, Merlin, stared down and vanquished the Saxon hordes at Mount Badon. That's his sword and his mace there." He pointed and I stopped briefly to admire them both before having to follow on after the others.

"It's a myth." Viviane announced as we walked out into the courtyard, scepticism evident.

"Yes, every legend, every myth, every story whispered around the campfire has a logical explanation. Oh, with that I agree wholeheartedly, but logic has left the building." Burton responded easily as we continued to follow after him.

"You're talking about magic."

"What, like your walking, talking Lamborghini?" Cade pointed out before being a smartass about it, which I supported completely. "'Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic'."

"Arthur C. Clarke. Impressive." Viviane admitted with slight surprise in her tone and I smirked to myself as I walked past, stopping before Bumblebee to lean down and kiss his hood.

"Hey Bee, I just found out you're a real Nazi hater. You been holding back secrets from me big guy?" He clicked and flashed his headlights at me in answer so I chuckled, smiling to him before I went after the others, Burton showing us to a beautiful chapel which stole my breath and it was a few moments before I actually noticed the round table at the centre. "Now, this place was built around the original round table. Percival, Gawain, Tristan, Lancelot. They sat right here. Twelve in all and behind them sat the twelve who came from Cybertron." Unable to help myself I reached out and touched the table, sensing a long history and feeling connected to it, even if it was just a little. "Twelve alien knights who saw in Camelot what the human race could be at its finest. A race of honour." From up in the rafters Cogman was playing a rather extraordinary piece on the organ, filling the chapel with a glorious sound until Burton sighed and called out. "Cogman?"

"Yes sir?"

"You ruined the moment again!"

"I was making the moment more…epic." He affirmed and I laughed lightly.

"I thought your playing was spectacular Cogman." I told him honestly and he looked at me in surprise before bowing politely.

"Why thank you my lady, it is welcome to know that my efforts are appreciated."

"Just be quiet. What's the matter with you?" Burton questioned before lowering his breath to a mutter. "If I could find his neck, I'd strangle him." Shaking his head he then lifted his cane to point at a breastplate which looked centuries old and like it was ready to fall apart. "This belonged to King Arthur himself. Now, legend held that one last knight would someday be chosen and the struggle to save the world would begin. It would appear, Mr Cade, that that last knight is you."

"What?" He scoffed, hands in his pockets as he walked around the table. "You're saying he travelled the whole universe to find me?"

"No, not you specifically. Not a failed inventor from the state of Texas. No, god forbid." Burton snorted but stopped, a look of irritation creasing his brow before tuning on Cogman again who was singing a dramatic aria to match the atmosphere of the conversation. "Stop it!" Turning around so that my back was to everyone I smirked and gave Cogman the thumbs up and he bowed again, accepting my silent applause. "You know, if you don't stop it, I will send you back to Cybertron in a little tiny box." He warned before returning his attention to Cade who just looked at him.

"I am not a failed inventor." He protested tetchily however Burton corrected himself quickly.

"No, he meant the qualities of a knight, Mr Cade. Miss Viviane, the qualities of a knight, if you please?"

"Qualities of a knight, purity of heart, valour, honour, virtue, integrity." She listed it off and I rolled my eyes quietly, still inspecting each sword and seat as I searched for Cybertronian symbols and alien imprints which had been left behind.

"I have those."

"Oh, and most importantly, is he chaste?" Burton asked and I frowned, glancing up briefly.

"Chased? Dude, I was getting chased when your little weirdo buddy brought me and Helen over here on the plane." Not quite understanding the humour, both Burton and Vivian frowned at him.

"Chaste. C-h-a-s-t-e. Celibate?" She tried to explain further and Cade scowled irately.

"Yeah, I know, I was making a joke. You don't think I know how to spell? I know what he meant." For the most part I ignored the argument that followed, backfires consisting between Viviane and Cade as the tension between them escalated until finally I cleared my throat and they stopped, looking at me as if only just remembering that I was present.

"This is all well and good for Cade but why am I here? I don't have a talisman or a fancy secret order, why did you have Cogman bring me here too?" I asked Burton who gave me a rather cheeky grin.

"Well considering your history, I thought that since you have already taken part and were quite instrumental in saving the world three times already and saving billions of lives, who better to bring along for the trip than a professional such as yourself?" Pausing for a moment I made to answer, stopped to reconsider then inclined my head.

"Good point." An awkward silence followed and everyone looked around for a few moments until Viviane gestured to the table.

"What is this? Some sort of a map?"

"Oh, this table is from Cybertron. It's a puzzle I've been working on for some time. My entire life, actually." Burton answered as he strolled over to one of the chairs and sat down upon it.

"And what do these glyphs say about it?"

"They're old Cybertronian. A mantra whispered through the cosmos. _'Seglass ni tonday'_."

"Wait a minute." I looked up as Cade spoke, turning around and coming back to the table with recognition flickering in his eyes. "I heard that before. A knight on a ship said it before he died, what does it mean?"

"With your dying breath, protect the staff." He translated and I rolled the words off my tongue curiously. "They had their name for it. We have ours. The staff of Merlin, bequeathed to him by an alien race. Fused with his DNA so that only he would have the key to unlock its alien power. Or as they knew it in those days, magic. The staff was buried with Merlin's body. A thousand years we've kept it hidden. If it ever fell into the wrong hands, it would mean the imminent destruction of everything we know and love." Well that sounded familiar. To be honest I've heard that the world is going to be destroyed so many times now that it had lost all sense of urgency and panic. "The twelve guardian knights combined into a mighty dragon to protect it, and now it is in great danger."

"Megatron. He was after this." Cade mentioned, tapping the talisman.

"Which means that he's going to want the staff for him, greedy bastard." I said with a sigh. "You know, I'm pretty sure we've killed him twice before. Shouldn't he learn to just give it a rest already? Why do they even keep on coming back here, to Earth I mean. It's like they're obsessed with the planet." I questioned and Burton nodded to me.

"An excellent point. They are here to reclaim the staff, and we must keep it from them at all costs. Only a direct descendant of Merlin himself can wield this instrument of absolute power and you, Miss Viviane, are Merlin's last descendant here on earth, and as such, you are our last hope."

"Okay, wait. Go back." Viviane halted, lifting her hands to pause the conversation. "You're saying that I'm related to the wizard Merlin?" She questioned and at that moment, Cogman arrived with a massive book with the complete family history of Viviane's family, linking her all the way back to Merlin himself. Not too bad finding out you're related to a literal legend, if you ask me.

"Bit of a shock, isn't it?" Burton said as he got up again. "Only you know the staff's location, imparted to you by your father. He had to leave a clue, didn't he?" Picking up some photos he handed them directly to me and pointed to them. "This is the latest image of their world coming here, we are running out of time. Vivian, you _must_ find that staff."

"Are you sure you have the right person? Because she doesn't have that 'I know where the staff is' look." Before everything could become too much for her, Viviane shook her head and turned around to face Burton with a hard expression on her face.

"Listen, the only thing that my father imparted to me was to get out of his study."

"Well then, what are we waiting for?" I questioned, making her retract slightly. "Sounds like a good place to start looking if you ask me. Trust me honey, with these end of the world shindigs, it's best if you get your ass moving as soon as possible and don't try chickening out, because I will cut off your hand and use it myself to get this staff if that's what it takes. I have fought too damn hard and for too long to let this world end now, so move." Talking as sickly sweet as I could I spun Vivian around and marched her forwards, already desperately trying to figure out a plan of what we were going to do when we find that staff, because find it we will.


	46. Chapter 46

"MI6 and TRF are here!"

"Well that's just peachy." I drawled and immediately our haste became even hastier.

"Move it! Go! Cogman, get me to London." Burton was saying as I rushed around the castle and to the front where Bumblebee and Hot Rod were waiting.

"I need my car, please tell me you unloaded it from the plane!" Running in these huge heels brought back memories and whilst I was expertly racing along, Viviane struggled to even trot, amateur.

"Your vehicle is waiting for you in the courtyard, my lady." Cogman informed me politely and I thanked the lord for that because otherwise I would have to waste time going and getting it because there is no way I'm going anywhere without it.

"I got 'em boys!" An older generation transformer tried to help us by blasting at the incoming enemy but lost his balance and ended up flat on his face. Poor guy. Running straight to my car I pulled open the door and got in, starting up the engine and it roared into life, allowing me to peel forwards and streak ahead of Bumblebee.

"Alright everyone we're going to have TRF on our tails and in the air so when we get to London we're going to have to split up in order to make them chance different targets. Hot Rod, you and I will be decoy cars so that Bumblebee can get Cade and Viviane to her father's study and look for the staff. Let's hustle people, we're bringing street racing to London streets.

 _"Boo yah!"_ Bumblebee cheered in reply and I smirked a little before hitting the gas even more and flying over the roads towards London, following the road signs. With our incredible speed capabilities we were soon enough hitting the streets of London, though not without the entire police force and TRF chasing after us.

"Bee overtake me." I ordered, dropping back behind Hot Rod as well as the car Cogman was driving before transferring to the car and partially shifting at the back. I released a heavy stream of oil and weaved through the street before closing up again, shooting forwards as the cars behind hit the oil and instantly lost their traction with the road. They lurched violently and some of them were overturned and I winced a little, hoping no one was hurt too bad but needs must. We had to keep from getting captured at all costs. I made several loops of the city, splitting off from Bumblebee and Hot Rod to take some of our pursuers with me, leading them through the streets as I scanned the area around me before I jerked myself around and went through an alley, however I pushed myself up onto my side so that two of my wheels ran along the wall to allow me to fit. "Moments like this make the chase so worth it, totally kickass." I chuckled to myself as the cars screeched to a halt, unable to follow whilst I dropped down on the other side and took off again.

Honing on Bumblebee's location after he had picked up Viviane and Cade after they had ransacked her father's office, we drove straight at one another before swerving left and right so that we smoothly drove alongside one another. "Hey! You trying to kill us? That was way too close!"

"I think I know how to drive a car Cade, quit being a pussy!" I yelled back at him. Only a few seconds later my scan radar picked up a Decepticon signature and I recognised it as Barricade. Is that guy still alive? Jesus Christ Decepticons are tough little bastards. "I got this Bee, keep going but tell me where we're heading."

"Royal Navy Museum!" Cade shouted across to me so with a nod of my head I slammed on the brakes, one hand on the gearstick as I swung the car around and as I spun full circle my back end took out Barricade's front, knocking him off his wheels and as he flipped over we both transformed at the same time, his ugly face snarling at me as we locked hands and grappled whilst we slid down the road on my back whilst rolling, trying to grab at one another until finally I jammed my foot against his sternum to open up a space and blasted him with my gun, shooting him off me then as I skidded on my back I fired again, sending him flying away and crashing into abandoned cars and a garbage truck, making me smugly smirk before I flipped up onto my hands and rotated onto my feet whilst folding down, driving off before he could recover.

The others reached the museum long before I did however when I pulled to a stop I took a moment to breath, the thrilling rush making me feel a little light headed and even my wheels were smoking. "Are they inside?" I asked and Bumblebee answered me, rolling down his window so that I could hear.

 _"You got that right."_ Burton emerged a few minutes later, however when the old submarine started to turn its propellers, Bumblebee and I swiftly transformed and hurriedly jumped on top in order to catch the ride before we could be left behind. _"Hold on…I got you."_ Holding out his hand Bumblebee pulled me up and we both gripped onto the fin though he wrapped an arm around my waist and gently drew me in. _"Seems like a long time since…we were alone like this."_

"Bee, you're such a sweet talker." I laughed with amusement however the fluttering within would have meant I would be blushing if I could. His words flattered me and I couldn't help but smile as he tapped his head against mine before making sure he had a tight grip on me as the submarine actually _jumped_ its moorings and crashed into the water with a groan of old metal before it started to move us down the Thames. "Well, if we weren't being chased by several death squads, this could be quite romantic. Look, that's Big Ben and the House of Parliament over there and the London Eye. I always wanted to go on that thing as a little kid." I babbled a little before I reprimanded myself inwardly, why did I feel so nervous? It's just Bumblebee.

 _"Maybe when this is over…we can go travelling…across the world…and see everything that you want to see."_ He suggested and as much as such a thought could only be a dream, I appreciated the thought and the sentiment so I leaned into Bumblebee, resting my head against his shoulder and relaxed there for the precious few moments that we might or might not have of a calm tranquillity before we would be interrupted.

The submarine, who I guess was another old transformer, took us out to open water where the river met the ocean which lapped against the white chalky cliffs and I couldn't help but breathe in the salty breeze, but when we started to dive, I squeaked. "What the fu-!" My voice was cut off by the water and I instantly gripped onto Bumblebee as I stared around me, completely consumed by water. At least our transformer bodies didn't _actually_ need to breathe otherwise this would be a problem. I just hope this metal body is enough to protect my human one as we dove deeper and the water pressure increased. I heard Bumblebee whir at me to calm me down, assuring me that we would be alright before he looked up, so I did the same.

As we glided through the water, luminescent jellyfish swam past us and streaks of bright silver from the scales of fish swarmed past as well, making my eyes widen in wonder. If the Thames had been romantic, this was a whole other level. I was spellbound by the beauty of the dark ocean, watching as the graceful movements of the jellyfish bobbed past us and I was just beginning to finally grow calm when my warning systems activated and instantly I twisted around to see a nuclear class attack submarine following after us. Crap. They couldn't have given us just one more minute? Bumblebee and I were having a moment!

A torpedo came shooting towards us but missed by inches, exploding upon the sand bed but when the submarine we were riding suddenly started to rise upwards, Bumblebee and I had to grab on for dear lives as it actually arched overhead and came rushing back down and crashed into the other sub, sending it spinning out of control. From the impact Bumblebee lost his grip, wailing as he flailed in open water so I pointed my arm towards him and fired a cable line which shot through the water and latched onto his wrist, allowing me to pull him back aboard. He grabbed onto me as I held onto the fin, wishing I could be inside rather than out here.

We glided through the water until we were so deep I could hardly see anything at all. If it weren't for Bumblebee having his arm around me I would have felt much more intimidated. The submarine continued to cut deeper into the ocean depths until finally we started to approach a colossal shape which eventually proved to be an alien ship. It must be the place we were meant to find, was the staff meant to be _here_? Well it's well hidden, I'll give them that. Moving inside the ship came alive and the doors closed behind us and as we rushed to the surface I gripped on even tighter until we broke through and instinctively I sucked in a deep gulp of air. The water sloshed and sprayed before settling again whilst the echoes continued to bounce of the walls endlessly.

"I'll add to the list of things I never thought I'd end up doing in my life list." I said, shaking off some of the water as well as a fish who'd got caught on me before dropping it back into the water. The manhole opened up and I quickly moved over to Cade, opening up my hand and he gripped onto it so that I could pull him out. "It's slippery up here so be careful, don't move until I can get you to the walkway over there because if you fall and crack your head open, I'm not going to do anything except say I told you so." I informed him bluntly so he held up his hands.

"Alright, I'll stay put right here." As Viviane emerged and looked up, her eyes widened in alarm as she jumped violently.

"My god there's more of you! Which one are you then?"

"Excuse me Miss Attitude, I could always just leave you here if you're not going to be nice about it, and what do you mean which one am I?" She stared at me, mouth going agape so I rolled my eyes. "Yes it's me, Helen, long story but I can't be assed to explain so just get on up here and let's go already." Giving her no real choice I picked her up with one hand then lifted Cade onto my shoulder, offering a hand to Cogman as he too climbed out.

"That won't be necessary thank you very much." He assured me, jumping to the walkway so I followed, letting both Cade and Vivian down whilst I waded through the water like Bumblebee, walking alongside them as we looked around at the decrepit remains of the ship.

"What now?"

"You're the last knight. You're the Earl's special guy. You figure it out." Cogman answered back a little snidely and his tone amused me as I continued forwards, pushing my way through the water. Cade looked around for a moment before peering into the water, contemplating a moment before measuring its height by where it reached my legs.

"Let's go." Offering my hand he stepped onto my palm them walked up to my shoulder again to sit down and perch there, however when I offered my other hand to Viviane, she just looked at me.

"Will I be safe up there? I don't particularly like the idea of falling off and smacking the water from your height." She said to me and I frowned slightly, arching an eyebrow however Cade was the one who answered.

"If there's any place that's going to be safe, it'll be with Helen. She's got these big ass shields she can use to protect us, so if I were you, I'd get your little butt up here." Persuaded, she carefully stepped onto my hand however she proved not very good at balancing as her arms wavered as she wobbled, so I saved her the trip and brought her up to my shoulder, turning around as she settled herself down and gripped onto the slates of my helm for extra security.

"I'm not going in that water. My gears would be sucked into my main shaft." Cogman proclaimed however Bumblebee just shrugged his hands in disbelief before flicking Cogman in the back and sent him flying into the water after us as I walked ahead, though I couldn't hide my smirk. "Now you're both on my to kill list." Leaving Cogman behind we continued walking until finally the water receded and I could put them both down on their own two feet, however it soon proved that we would have to split up as the way Viviane was certain we needed to go in was too small for Bumblebee and I to follow.

"Bee, Hel, go around, find another way!" Cade called to us so I nodded my head and looked upwards at the cables that were dangling from a point in the distance not even we could see.

 _"What? Are you serious? Think I like winding up in a place like this?"_ Bumblebee complained so I flicked him on the back of his head.

"Stop being a baby and start climbing."

 _"What about you?"_

"I'm taking the faster way up." I informed him with a grin before igniting my thrusters and flying up, carefully manoeuvring to avoid the dangling ropes whilst Bee grumbled below.

 _"Aw come on! That's…so not fair."_ We climbed higher and higher until we were able to find a way through the ship, crawling on our bellies when the ceiling was too low and walking upright when it was high enough. I locked onto Cade's signature, continually angling towards it before we had to descend again, however by this point I could read numerous other signatures including that of Lennox and I sensed an old transformer go active, the sounds of yelling and clashing metal jarring through me as Bee and I looked at one another. _"Uh oh…this spells trouble."_

"Hurry Bee." Moving the pace we both dropped down and ran into a long open walkway, breaking through the veil of cables however when my gaze landed upon a broad back with red flames upon blue, I froze in place and stared. A hundred thoughts and feelings hit me at once, my mouth opening in stupefied shock. It was Optimus, but how…? I can't even sense him, it was like even though he was standing right here, I could still feel that static wall blocking my bond with him and as I realised it wasn't because of distance, hurt coursed through me.

"I've come for that staff." He declared, withdrawing his blade from two knights and placed it upon his back as he walked forwards, Cade standing in absolute shock just as I did.

"Optimus, what are you doing?"

"Give it to me." Optimus didn't even seem to recognise Cade, ignoring him as he lowered down his head to glare straight at Viviane who gripped onto the staff tightly with both hands, hugging it close to her as she backed up until a wall blocked her escape.

"It's me, Cade. We fought together."

"I fight for my own kind! My own planet!" He declared as he punched the ground and I felt my knees buckle a little. Somebody had done something to him, that's the only explanation. This wasn't Optimus, not his real self anyway. "Give me the staff, human. I _will_ kill you." Dread filled me and I sought out Bumblebee, alarm and fear wrought upon my metallic features as he gazed back. Without a word his hand closed upon mine and I gripped onto him tightly.

"Give it to him." Cade finally decided and Viviane slowly relinquished the staff to Optimus who took it and hid it away within his chest. He walked away from us like we were nothing, like we were inconsequential and as my spark thrummed like a pained cry, I felt everything around me slowly begin to crumble. I'd waited and hoped for the day that Optimus would come back but now that he was, it wasn't the real him. What am I supposed to do now? Suddenly a gun went off, opening fire upon Optimus who whirled around with an enraged growl and blasted at a cluster of TRF soldiers, snarling as he straightened.

"Who dares to challenge me?" Then he was gone, his echoing footsteps all that remained as he disappeared from sight.

"It's all wrong. Something happened, that is not Optimus." Cade said insistently as I remained catatonic. "You got to find him, Bumblebee, Helen. Helen? Hel!" Jolting awake I turned my head down towards him. "Listen to me, you can't zone out now. You've been our leader for the past year and now that Optimus is back and raising hell, it's your job to set him right. He's you god damn father Helen, go after him!" Although inwardly the thought at having to fight Optimus was both terrifying and heart breaking, I knew he was right.

"Bumblebee, with me." Snapping myself into focus Bumblebee and I raced after Optimus, running through the chambers before we were pushed out into the open water, the ship rising up to the surface and for a moment I was lost in the churning currents until I ignited my thrusters and spiralled myself out of the way, taking a moment to see the stage. Bumblebee was going after Optimus, launching himself through the water at him whilst overhead, a submarine was situated directly above the ship. "God damn it, humans can be so stupid." I muttered before shooting forwards. As the ship crashed into the underbelly of the sub I grabbed onto the nose and pushed, using all my strength to slide it off the ship and back into open water before I was then caught in the uprising folds of the ship, breaking through the water and we rushed into the air, huge waves crashing all around and before I could be swept away I grabbed onto something to anchor me down.

When the water finally dispersed I was up on my feet and running and pushed off the ground to fly up into the air, arching around and turning towards Bumblebee and Optimus who were fighting one another brutally, Optimus even ripping off Bee's wings. "Prime!" Crying out his head lifted but too late. My foot crashed against his chest and he flew backwards as I landed in front of Bumblebee, one hand raised to shield him as my mask slid across my face and my helm evolved into it's warrior state. "I am going to beat your ass until you remember who we are Optimus, that's a promise!"

"I am Nemesis Prime. You are nothing!" He yelled at me, grabbing his sword and rushing forwards so I shifted my plates and pulled my own sword as it emerged from my back. Holding the hilt with both hands our blades clashed with bright sparks as we leaned against one another, his optics shining a brilliant purple instead of their usual blue. With a growl he pulled back and swung at me again however this time I ducked under the blow before jumping up, twisting my legs like a hurricane to kick him in the chest and back, trying to stun him even just a little bit however his body was far too strong to be so easily overcome.

"Wake up Optimus, wake up please. Come back to us!" I begged him as we parried blows until Bumblebee joined the fray, the two of us against Optimus but still he held us back. It was the water which knocked us all down, everyone being swept off their feet however Bumblebee launched his hammer at Optimus, smashing him in the face before he landed on his back and Cade rushed forwards, climbing up him.

"Prime! Prime, stop! Prime, you got to stop! Please! Don't do this! What are you doing? It's Bee and Helen!"

"Cade, get out of there!" I thundered, scrambling back onto my feet and grasping my sword as Bumblebee sprung upwards and brought his hammer down however Optimus blocked it and held it off however Bumblebee stomped a foot upon his chest, trying to pin him down. Sliding over the wet ground I grabbed Cade as another wave came, holding him close to my chest as I turned and tried to stop us from sliding out of control however the ship started to lift up into the air and we all went flying down a steep slope uncontrollably. Twisting around I ignited one of my thrusters in order to straighten out before shooting a line to stop us from falling, the sudden stop making my entire body lift off the ground before I then released it again, this time staying on one knee and foot to push myself towards Optimus who had Bumblebee pinned down, his sword striking off his helmet and digging into the metal outside of the ship.

"No! Optimus stop it, _STOP!"_ I crashed into Bumblebee and closed my hand around Optimus's fist, the blades scratching into my fingers as I leaned over to protect him, breathing heavily as I felt my entire arm be wrenched painfully from the power behind his strike but Bumblebee suddenly made a strange gasping whirring sound and then, he spoke.

"I am Bumblebee." My head snapped around to look at him in shock, staring as Cade scrambled against me before he too froze in placed and gaped at Bee. "Your oldest friend. Optimus, I would lay down my life for you." Barely breathing I looked at Bumblebee a moment longer before then gazing up at Optimus, still gripping onto Bumblebee protectively as the blades retracted into his arm and Optimus pulled back, the purple glare flickering before fading back to blue.

"Bumblebee…your voice. I have not heard it since Cybertron fell." He spoke sombrely but in a voice that I recognised, a voice that I trusted and had more faith in than I did in the entirety of humanity. "What have I done?" Getting up as Bumblebee pieced himself together I reached out, placing my hand against Optimus's arm, but before either of us could speak, something crashed into the ship and I felt myself being blown with so much force that I was sent flying backwards, yelling in alarm before I was then knocked over the edge of the ship. "Helen!" Optimus shouted my name as I grabbed onto a broken piece of the ship, dangling over a rather menacing abyss of water and waves.

"Optimus!"

"I knew you couldn't do it. Your time is over, Prime." That voice, I would know that voice anywhere. Megatron, that conniving son of a bitch! Swinging myself up I jumped for the topside of the ship, vaulting up before I landed with one fist planted into the ground, a dark growl rumbling in my chest as I lifted my head to see Megatron grasping Optimus's head. "You failed, you turned your back on Cybertron. Now you will watch Earth die!"

"Let…him… _GO_!" With a furious cry which thundered all around us I sprinted forwards, shooting at Megatron as he grasped the staff and I struck his shoulder, forcing him to release Optimus however by the time I reached him, the coward had already fled. "It's alright, I'm here. I've got you now, I'm so sorry Optimus." I babbled, grasping onto him and embracing him with everything I had. "Please, don't ever disappear like that again."

"Forgive me, my spark, I was not strong enough." Vibrations rose up from underneath me and I pulled back, looking down before I then diverted my gaze upwards however before I could stop them, the Knights ripped me away from Optimus and flung me back so that I fell heavily on my side, twisting and crashing until I slammed my hand into the ground and dug in my fingers to grip on, tearing through the metal.

"No! Leave him alone!" Bellowing I was back on my feet in seconds, running to Optimus however when I tried to break through another Knight pushed me back, blocking my way effortlessly.

"You betrayed your own kind. You chose the wrong side." One of the Knights spoke, prowling around Optimus as they all brandished their weapons and I felt fear that I rarely felt boil through me, the intense heat and thrumming sensation in my chest burning brighter and fiercer.

"The Guardian Knights are going to kill me." Optimus realised heavily before a sword smacked his face. Everything inside me flew into a burst of rage and fury, my legs swinging around to bring myself upright once again as I ran to Optimus even as the Knights began to strike at him with their blades and weapons.

"Quintessa is the great deceiver!" With another blow to the back, I wordless scream erupted from my mouth as I flung my weight down and slid underneath the first Knight, getting past him to then rise up and springing into the air with my body twisting in a spiral as a blade sliced at the air where my head would have been, taking me past the second. "The judgment is death." Cade, caught among the chaos, was running at Prime to however I lowered down and pressed my hand against him to hold him back, feeling something suddenly creep up my finger and into my hand but I hardly noticed, still moving towards Prime and as the Knight's sword lifted upwards, I gave a roar unlike any other and closed my fist, intending to punch the sword away with all my might however when I felt the shape of a hilt growing into my palm I gripped it, swinging the weapon upwards as a huge sword emerged from the talisman that Cade had been wearing all this time.

The clash sent a pulse through my entire body as I hooked one of my legs over Optimus to fully shield him, ready to die in his place if that was what was necessary however upon our swords making contact, a blue energy glowed between them, rising from my sword and the Knight halted before drawing back, relaxing his stance before pointing his sword inwards. " _Seglass ni tonday_."

" _Seglass ni tonday. Seglass ni tonday._ " The Knights all responded thus, making me stop and look around them all before slowly I stood up, looking down to the sword in my hand in wonder. The talisman had been given to Cade, why then did it choose to help me? I had no weapon in my hand and hadn't even thought to activate my weapons' system, all I had wanted was to save Optimus, because without him not only would this world fall, but my world. The world that I had created around myself which centred around the Autobots and him.

"Helen, Cade, I have failed you both. I have doomed earth. Earth, the only place in the universe whose people let me call it home." Optimus spoke despairingly, lowering his head in shame so I gradually rose up and stepped off him, lifting the sword up and allowed it to become attached to my back so that I could carry it.

"Only you can make it right, Prime." Voice raw with emotion and pressure, Cade stood by Optimus's face as I walked around slowly, listening as I knelt down before Optimus. "We can't do it without you. One moment, that's all we got. It's up to you, Prime, because without you we all die. It's now or never."

"You are our leader, Optimus." I told him in the softest voice I possessed, reaching out my hand to lay it against his face and lift his chin up to face me. "If the fate of the world were to rest in anyone's hands, I would entrust it to yours and I would gladly fight by your side even were we to fail. There would be no regrets, nothing I would change, I would live and die by your word because I have more faith in you than anything else in the multiverse." Tilting my head forwards I touched his brow with mine before I rose to stand tall. "Now get up, Optimus Prime. Get up. This war is not lost yet. Get up." Despite his injuries Optimus planted his fist into the ground and pushed himself upright, rising to stand taller than me and level himself with the Knights around us.

"My brothers, I will never betray you again. I am Optimus Prime. To save earth, we must go to Cybertron and destroy Quintessa." Grinning I activated my blaster cannon, getting it warmed and ready.

"Alright, I call first shot. I am going to bust a cap in her ass so big, she ain't ever gonna be sitting down again." The Knights all looked at me in bewilderment whilst Cade snorted. "We've got Autobots incoming and I'm pretty sure by now we've finally got the military on our side, right Lennox?" I turned to the guy who had been on the side lines this whole time. "Looks like we're teaming up again to save the world. Just like old times."

"Good to have you back on board. Alright, let's get this show on the road." Engaging my thrusters I shot up into the air, rising above the ship to scan our surroundings. We were still over England and if I'm not mistaken, we were heading to Stonehenge. Huh, another place I always wanted to go. Guess there were perks to this job after all, even though I only got to see the sights whilst in an ultimate alien death match. I flew to the ground where the Knights, Optimus and Bumblebee all convened with me and I walked leisurely forwards, not interested in rushing off anywhere since everyone else was still arriving, including the Autobots.

"Look who it is, now that we've got the gang back together, let's go kick some ass." Crosshairs declared and I smiled to them all as we met in the middle, the soldiers and everyone else following behind.

"Glad to see you guys are all still in one piece, good job for not killing each other." I praised a little sarcastically before I looked down at Izabella who was staring at me yet frowning at the same time. "Hey there kiddo, I might have forgotten to mention this small detail. Don't worry, it's still me."

"No freaking way." She gawped as Squeaks raced around in alarmed circles. "That is you, right?"

"The one and only." I nodded my head, reaching down and offering her my forefinger which she touched in wondrous awe. "Now, which one of these _morons_ was it who let you hitch a ride across the ocean and into a battlefield?" Hound instantly looked guilty and started to cough, trying to casually amble away so I grabbed him by his neck and punched him in the head. "You idiot! You don't bring little girls into a warzone, what the hell is wrong with you?!"

"She wanted to come!"

"I don't care if she wanted a six tier chocolate cake with solid gold sprinkles, you do _not_ bring a _child_ into a _WAR!"_ My scolding over I let him go and he yelped, wobbling as he struggled to remain upright before finally tumbling to the ground but I ignored him, carefully picking up Izabella and Squeaks in my hands and cradled them both as I carried them over to Lennox and put them down. "Make sure she's safe Lennox, get her away from here if you can."

"But I want to help!"

"Little Bella, you're fourteen. You don't get to be a badass like me until you're at least sixteen, I'm afraid, so you and Squeaks are going to stay down and keep out of trouble, okay? You listen to Lennox and you do what he says, or I will put you on clean up duty the moment we get back home, alright?" She pouted a little but nodded her head so I chuckled softly and stood back up, turning as Optimus faced us all to speak.

"Knights, Autobots, this cannot and will not be the end. To save earth and her people, we are going to steal Quintessa's staff. Only you, Viviane, can take it back." He said, looking down to Viviane who looked as if she wished she were anybody else in the world right now. "I will lead the way into her chamber and when the account of the ages is etched into the cosmos, let those who exist long after us know that this, was our finest hour." As Optimus rose up into the sky, I followed his movements until he was gone from sight, however with his words I felt hope and confidence rise through me and as I turned around, I was ready to fight.


	47. Chapter 47

When the huge tendrils and chunks of Cybertron's desecrated surface started to pull back and scrape away at the surface I whirled around, giving a hand signal to the rest of the Autobots. "Move out right now! Clear the area, run!"

"It's coming, it's gonna crush us." Cade gulped as the soldiers started to run so I yelled to him to move it, my feet pounding into the earth as I scooped up Squeaks and Izabella before they could start to lag behind and clutched them against me with one arm.

"Autobots get that ship clear out of the way now!" I sprinted as fast as I could, outpacing any human and when debris started to fall from the sky I activated my shield on the one arm and held it over us like an umbrella, pushing it to grow as big as I could afford to make it and several soldiers as well as Cade and Vivian ran underneath it as I covered their escape to the Ospreys as they boarded our Autobot ship. "Get those gunner ships live, we'll need them if we're going to get these guys to the Ignition Chamber. You go in pairs, Hound you're with Bumblebee, Drift and Cross you two stick together." Naturally shooting out orders to everyone who needed to get something done I then faced the Knights who all stood there looking grim yet insanely cool at the same time. "Will you guys need a ship?"

"We will unite together and become Dragonstorm, do not concern yourself with us, youngling." Dragonstorm? As in, an actual dragon? Oh man, if they don't combine and become a massive fire breathing dragon, I will be sorely disappointed.

"Okay." Nodding my head I turned around and went to look outside, scanning to map out the tendrils, the land mass and as many sections as I could before implanting the information into my database so that I could charter a flight path and hopefully not get killed.

"Very mean looking." Drift mused as the Autobots all observed the Knights distantly.

"Oh, they look like wusses to me." Hound shrugged however Bee interjected with his radio, making me look around in surprise and confusion.

 _"No, they all messed up."_

"Bee?" Motioning him over to me we stood aside from everyone else for a moment. "Your voice…is everything okay?"

 _"Everything's fine…I just got so used to…using this old thing…it feels a little strange using…my own voice again."_ He explained to me so I inclined my head. I still couldn't believe it, Bumblebee's voice had come back. It was different to what I imagined, though then again I had always struggled to think of a voice that would suit a personality such as Bumblebee however this voice, now that I heard it I couldn't imagine him with any other. "At least now we may speak more easily with one another." There was a distinct shiver when he spoke to me and Bee gazed at me like we were the only ones alive in that moment, gently touching my side as his other hand rose to my face. "There are so many things I want to say to you, Helen, but couldn't communicate them across."

"Bee I've never had trouble understanding you, that has never been an issue between us." I told him quietly and his face softened into a smile like expression. "This is…I just can't believe it. You have your voice back."

"It has been a rather long time." He mused before tapping his head against mine then stepped back from me. _"But now's not the time to be fooling around…we got work to do…and a whole lot of people depend on us."_

"Right. Yes, yes, you're right Bee." Clearing my throat and waking from my daze I called for everyone to get to their ships as we moved in on our target. I took the leap first, tucking up and rolling before opening out once I was clear of the ship's boosters and transformed into my jet form, shooting forwards as the Ospreys and the Autobots followed, breaking off into teams. Best of all, however, was when I circled around and saw the Knights leap together and combine into a huge metal beast, three heads lifting up and massive wings spreading wide. Heck yeah! They did not disappoint, all hail Dragonstorm bitches!

Making a beeline for the target I spiralled in the air as I fired, shooting down one of the enemy gunships and manoeuvred unlike any other jet could ever possibly manage. Whistling around the tendrils I came back around, circling the Ospreys and fired two rocket missiles as more enemy targets came within range, shooting at one of the carriers but with both missiles shooting through their boosters they went down like a stone.

We were making good progress and I continued to flank the Ospreys as we came to the landing zone, however when the one carrying Lennox, Cade and Vivian clipped on of the Cybertronian cliffs before they were all shot at by the massive gun on the ground they spiralled out of control, flames and smoke bursting into life. "Oh hell no. Hang on Cade, Lennox tell everyone to brace for impact!" Yelling to them through our radio link I shot forwards then transformed as I anchored my feet into the ground.

As the plane came down I jumped, catching it and increased power to my jet thrusters to slow them down, my feet tearing through the dirt and my legs groaned in pain as I gripped onto the nose with everything I had before finally we came to a stop but I was unable to stop as enemy fire rained down upon us. With both shields I moved around to the back, ushering everyone out. "Move with me, do not get left behind otherwise you will be kill-WHY IS THE KID HERE?!"

"Long story short, she snuck in." Cade told me bluntly as I fixed my shield together and reshaped it to make it broader and cover more space in front of me.

"For the love of-you are grounded young lady, I swear to god!" With alarm and panic Izabella rushed to me with Squeaks and I herded everyone in, guns at either side to shoot then hide as I started to push forwards. My shield protected us from the heavy artillery however I wouldn't be able to punch a hole at this pace, it was far too slow and eventually they will break through my defences.

"Push right towards the crater! Helen you see it?"

"Got it. On me, now!" Moving to the right I picked up the pace a little, making everyone run towards the craters so that they could provide their own cover and the moment they were inside I returned my shield to its regular size and the two separate pieces settled on my forearms. "Autobots! Focus fire on that blaster cannon, take it down!" Aiming for the gun I fired but the Decepticons deflected it, protecting the gun and keeping anything from hitting before returning fire and I had to use my shields to shield my face. "Oh no you did not you dickheads, you did _not_ just shoot at me. I JUST FIXED THIS DAMN BODY YOU ASSHOLES!"

"She's pissed. They're in trouble now." Hound cackled as I sprinted forwards, jumping from side to side and vaulting over incoming fire before shooting up into the air to get a high vantage point and released a torrent of missiles straight down and the ground erupted underneath the Decepticons who were flung to the ground from the force of the blow.

"Infernocus, kill that pest!" At Megatron's behest, the biggest, ugliest looking Decepticon I had ever seen came charging forwards, great massive horns swallowing most of its face before with a powerful jump it soared into the air and collided with me, forcing me to transform in order to try and throw him off.

"Agh!" Choking on the pain of his fist connecting with my torso I was pummelled into the ground, twisting and crashing into thick plumes of mud before suddenly he grabbed my foot. "Let go of me you bitching freak show!" Firing at his face I made him drop me and I rotated to land on my feet, using a shield on one arm and drew the Knight's sword from my back, the long blade glistening as I swung however the horns deflected it, using them like weapons as he started to push me back until Bumblebee and Hot Rod came swooping in.

"I got him!" Hot Rod called then shot Infernocus, catching his side however he just brushed it off, growling as he lifted his blaster to shoot at their retreating tails.

"No!" With all my might I sprung at him, driving my sword through his chest and my sudden attack managed to throw off his aim, only just clipping Hot Rod's ship however it was enough for him to crash into Bumblebee and they both went down. "You mother…damn you to hell!" Despite the fact that I was thrown from Infernocus by his massive hands, my sword still embedded in his chest I landed on my hands and pushed back, going for him again as Dragonstorm flew into view with a familiar figure riding astride its back.

"Optimus!" Not breaking pace I grasped the hilt of my sword and kicked Infernocus in the face, ripping back his head and toppling him over backwards as I dragged my sword free as Optimus came to my aid.

"You ugly mess!" He growled as the two of us converged on Infernocus, both our swords clashing as I took off a leg and Optimus moved around to his back and pushed his sword tip through the head. "Did you forget who I am?" Even that didn't do anything and as I moved back, the entire body separated into several smaller forms of Infernocus, surrounding both Optimus and I who stood back to back. Without a word we both circled, spinning around on the spot with our backs never leaving one another and together our swords sliced through their necks, cleaving them off completely before they were all felled. "I am Optimus Prime." You know, I have on kickass daddy. "Autobots, attack!" I surged forwards, spearheading the attack and as I rushed at the Decepticon line I stag leaped into the air with my shield protecting my upper body and my blade came crashing down, splitting one of them in half. "Where is Viviane?!"

"She's gone, boss. They're all chickening out." Hound informed him as the others all moved forwards so I turned around, letting my mask slide back so that I could breathe freely and I scanned the surface, searching until I found the soldiers with Cade and Viviane at the far edge preparing to jump. A blast came at me and I lifted my shield to protect me before I then exchanged it for my cannon, shooting back and returning to the fight.

"Viviane! Get in here!" Optimus yelled so I looked again to see Cade and Viviane racing towards us even as one of the sections of Cybertron came crashing towards us. Holy crap, what the hell are those idiot humans doing? I can't believe I'm the same race as them! Can they not have waited _five_ minutes for Optimus to get here? Jesus, Mary and Joseph!

"Yes! My little lady!" Hot Rod cheered with relief as we all pushed through into the chamber however as the landmass made contact, we were all launched off our feet. Both Cade and Viviane were screaming, flailing wildly as they tumbled out of control so I gave myself a boost and rushed towards them, grabbing them by their waists as I flipped over my head before landing on the floor which was smooth and perfectly flat, offering us nothing to grab onto to halt our trip.

"Hold on, I got this." Shifting them both into one arm I opened up my hand and grabbed onto a jutting spike and quickly hung onto it even as the entire chamber was knocked out of the sky and started to tumble. When we were turned upright again and my legs dangled downwards once more I dropped down and ran forwards, putting Cade and Viviane down behind a broken chunk of architectural rock with Hot Rod close behind.

"Follow me. I will lead the way!" He declared and he rushed forwards straight for Megatron who was all that was left to defend the staff. Megatron looked different to all other times I had seen him, in fact if it weren't for his signature, voice and the general cold sense of dread you get whenever you look at him, I wouldn't have known it was still him. Guess getting reborn does offer you the chance of a complete makeover. "Grab the staff Viviane!" With her opening clear thanks to Hot Rod and Hound, Viviane bolted for the staff which sparked and crackled with electricity.

Throwing my weight forwards I slid over the ground with my sword in hand before spiralling up onto my knees and held the blade across with both hands to block Megatron's weapon as he hacked downwards at Hound who was flat on his back. "You!"

"That's right bitch." I smirked before kicking out his leg, forcing him to stumble back. "I put you down once and this time, I'm going to make sure I kill you for _sure_!" Tearing forwards our weapons clashed in a furious exchange of blows, Megatron's rank breath hot on my face as I landed several strikes upon his thick armour, scratching the surface however when he caught my side I was vaulted away however Hound was immediately in front of me to give me time to recover, Hot Rod jumping into view.

"Stop the time!" A bubble burst around Megatron, slowing time around him and once more I looked on in amazement at the technology.

"Gonna blow your head off, Megatron!" Hound declared as he released a storm of bullets into the bubble. "Sayonara, bubblehead!" Above I saw a rather beautifully formed figure controlling everything, the tendrils of her metal gown floating almost dreamily as she looked down towards Viviane who was rushing towards the staff. She has to be Quintessa.

"Megatron, kill her!" Focusing on protecting Viviane first I grabbed my sword again and picked myself up, leaping over the various bits of debris. Megatron flung Bumblebee off his back at Quintessa's order then raised his gun, aiming to shoot Viviane down however Optimus sliced his sword through the entire arm and severed it, taking the gun with it. With a howl of rage Megatron grasped onto Optimus's sword arm with his remaining hand before butting heads with him, crushing him into the floor as he snarled.

"We were brothers once!"

"Once." Optimus emphasised before slamming his feet against Megatron and sent him straight towards me. With my sword grasped tightly in my hand I drew back my arm and as I planted my other hand against Megatron's back I used the force of his propulsion to thrust the blade tip straight through his spark, the sword erupting through his chest and he howled with miserable rage and contempt as I pushed him down to his knees.

"That was for trying to destroy my planet repeatedly. Hasta la vista jackass. Don't come back to life again." With a yell I withdrew my sword then brought it crashing down, using all my strength as Megatron bellowed in outrage however when the sharp edge connected with his head he roar was silenced and only its echo remained as I split his entire body in two, making for sure that he was definitely dead this time and wasn't going to be revived or reborn ever again. With Megatron now dead, my eyes turned to Quintessa. "You're next bitch."

Suddenly the entire chamber lurched forwards and we started to fall again, causing the air to become weightless and everything floated around me. "We're going weightless. Weightless!" Hound rumbled as he struggled to try and direct himself. I pushed rocks away from me as they rose, trying to angle for the side of the chamber so that I could push off something solid and then I could fly. Right now if I tried, I'd just hit my face against a wall or a boulder or something.

"Grab my hand!" Twisting my neck I looked to Cade who grasped at Vivian's arm then swung her around back up to the staff. "Don't let it go!"

"Quintessa, get off our planet!" With a single blast Optimus knocked this Quintessa out of her control zone, the huge spark bolts ceasing.

"You traitor!" As I watched her turn on Optimus and use some kind of electromagnetic energy to freeze him in place, my processors absorbed everything and analysed the possibilities of success. Against her? Zero. However, in my past years of studying Autobot technology, there is nothing about electromagnetic fields that I don't understand or already know, and this was something I plan to use against her. Quickly I grounded my feet against the wall, loading up my cannons but instead of shooting blaster bolts, I fired five discs which started to flash and register one another, spiralling to form a circle which then attached itself to the ground.

"Say hello to my friend, Bumblebee." Appearing behind Quintessa Bumblebee shot her in the back, making her screech loudly as she was blasted away from both and the moment she crossed over my trap, I activated it. Immediately the electromagnetic waves pulled against her, trapping her in place.

"You will all die by my hand, you are all traitors to Cybertron and Primus himself!" She raged, trying to fight back against my trap however try as she might, I'm just too damn good.

"Yeah? Well here on earth, we've got our own god, God the Father and let me tell you sister he is pissed at you!" Shooting at her through the pulses which dragged her down until she was mere feet off the ground I laid into her, stripping back her defences as parts of her armour were peeled away. "Autobots, if you've got any juice left, now's the time!" I suggested as Quintessa began to summon all of her energy. I don't know how long my trap will be able to hold her, she is a pretty badass evildoer after all.

As the chamber tumbled everyone released everything they had upon Quintessa, the booms of sounds deafening and in my mind I was already preparing for the final move. A divine move, as Go players would say. With the Knight's sword still in my hand I loosened my grip and it began to shrink back into a round talisman and I held it securely as I prepared for what I knew was coming. As I expected, Quintessa released a rush of energy all at once and burst free of her prison, destroying my pulse discs in the process. With her limitless wrath she sent another wave at all us Autobots, Cade and Viviane yelling until Hot Rod was able to grab hold of them and toss them both to Optimus. The powerful blow slammed us all backwards until we hit something solid to break our fall, however not me.

As the second wave had come I'd put everything I had into my legs, running straight at Quintessa who bared her teeth at me as she flung out her wrist. As I was struck, I flung the talisman forwards and my chest unfolded, ejecting my human body and instantly I transferred across to it, awakening and stretching out my hand for the talisman. My fingers curled around the round disk, feeling it come alive as it folded back into a sword only this time, more suited to my smaller stature. Giving it all I had, I lifted the sword high and swung down as I flew at Quintessa, her eyes widening in alarm as my Knight's sword glowed with a brilliant blue light at its rims and within the detail of the hilt, whirring and responding to me as I brought it down upon her shoulder.

Without any hesitation I sliced through her and the blade cut her body in half whilst also destroying her spark, causing her to gasp. "No! NO! No it cannot be, you are vermin! Filth! I DID NOT CREATE YOU!" The chamber spiralled down towards earth as I gripped onto Quintessa's throat, glaring at her even though I was tiny in comparison to her.

"No. It was Optimus Prime who gave me life. He's _my_ creator." I watched as the light died from her optics and I wrenched the sword free and cut off her head again to be certain. Having experienced Megatron come back to life repeatedly, I refused to take chances in any scenario. The now lifeless body dropped to the ground, however now I had nothing to keep me grounded, nothing to stop me from falling. My other body had already fallen into the skies and as I started to fall, my stomach lurched threateningly to my mouth.

"HELEN!" Optimus bellowed my name and tried to dive down to me but in a cruel twist of fate he was struck off course by the crumbling debris and I continued to descend. The sword in my hand returned to its disk form before it slid up my hand and wrapped itself around my wrist like a bracelet and I could feel a tingling warmth from where it made contact with my skin. To be honest, my analysis had told me that this was the most like outcome for me. Death. I had no Autobot body, no jetpack or wings, nothing. Now I really wish I'd been able to finish my bodysuit armour, I might have stood a chance then. Hell, I was still wearing that skimpy ivory dress and heels Burton had gifted me.

Falling through the entrance of the chamber I struck ground and felt a sickening crack in my back which ripped a scream from my lungs as I skimmed the surface before continuing to tumble until I was thrown out into open skies. The wind roared in my ears and my hair stuck to my face and mouth, almost making me choke on it. Again I hit something solid, breaking more of my body as I was cast through one helluva beating. From the air pressure and pain I started to blackout, however in the flashes where my vision could focus and I could discern colours and shapes, a huge shape of silver cut through the sky, blasted away a rock with a plume of fire and for a brief moment I thought Grimlock had come back.

Three heads came into focus and the middle one roared before they reared up and I felt cold metal close around me. Dragonstorm. No frigging way…so in this story the dragon saves the princess. I'm cool with that. My head rolled back and I failed to feel anything as the biting cold numbed my entire body until finally we were set upon the ground once more and I was laid to rest, Dragonstorm very carefully setting me down and placed my Autobot form close by, having grabbed it too. "Thank you…" All three heads eyed me closely before they all bowed and stepped back. Everything hurt however very gradually it was starting to fade away as I just became numb to everything.

I could feel vibrations in the ground, colossal waves which rippled through the earth before finally settling and I slowly turned my head so that I could look at Cybertron and try to imagine what it would have looked like in full glory. Actually, I think it would look a little like earth. The ground was black like granite but there was grass and mountains, beautiful scenes with the hive network running all the way through the planet. It's strange to think that just a few moments ago I had been walking on an alien planet. Does that count as space travel?

"Helen! My god, my god okay, I need a medic! Medic!" Lennox shouted as he reached me hands hovering over my body as I stared off into space, unblinking and unmoving. "Come on, give me something, a heartbeat, something. No wait, stay back, stay back! Get that girl away from here!" Izabella started screaming, shrieking even as someone grabbed her around the waist and pulled her away. "Come on Helen, you are not going out like this. Where the hell is my medic team?!"

My eyelid twitched slightly as my heart suddenly thrummed, smoothly vibrating as Optimus flew in from above then landed with a crash of his feet in the ground, barely managing to put Cade and Viviane down safely before he fell to his knees beside me and hunched over. "Helen, what have I done? This is all my fault."

"Easy Prime, easy, you can't move her she's got a broken spine, the slightest movement could kill her." To me these were all just senseless words, however I could feel that Optimus was near me and I wanted nothing more than to reach out to him but my hand wouldn't move. Nothing would move. Oh god, I've been paralysed!

"You must save her, she cannot die!" Then came Bumblebee, giving a horrible gut wrenching cry of pain but as he tried to get through Hot Rod and Hound had to hold him back as the medical team arrived. This body was so badly broken that for a moment they did not even know where to begin. It felt like everyone was hovering over me waiting for me to die and I was sick of it, so instead of allowing myself to suffer in this form, I managed to push my consciousness across to my other body however it took some intense fortitude as the shock to my conscious mind had everything scrambled like an egg.

Finally my eyes flew open and I jerked, my arm shooting upwards to scrabble against the sensation that I was still falling. "Sparkling! My spark it's alright, you are safe now, I am here." Optimus crossed the distance between us in a heartbeat and the moment his hand closed around mine I felt myself begin to recognise my surroundings and my body resumed normal functions. For a moment I just sat there, disbelief creasing my brow before I looked across to my human body.

"Am I…am I still alive?"

"Yes, little sparkling. You are alive. You must be strong and allow your body to heal." Nodding my head I rose to my feet then walked over, crouching down over my body and looked down. Strangely enough it didn't look broken, all limbs were bent in the right direction, however the way my eyes were wide open and just staring like glass beads made me feel nauseous.

"Please, can you close my eyes?" I requested and one of the medics did so. "There is no need to worry for my body, it will heal on its own. All that needs to be done is to keep me alive. The energon will regenerate my body to a state of perfect health so please, take good care of it for me."

"Don't worry, we'll do our best." The head medic assured me so I inclined my head gratefully before reaching down to the talisman at my wrist. It rose up and travelled into my palm, growing in size until it fit perfectly.

"Another Knight has been recognised." Surprised by the new voice I looked up to the Guardian Knights as they separated themselves from one another and stood with their focus upon myself and Cade. "The multiverse is fortunate to receive two warriors of such distinction. For destroying Quintessa, you receive our eternal respect. Should you ever require our assistance again, you may call upon us to serve you." The one who seemed to lead the others bowed first before they all followed and I blinked at them. Why is it that so many people end up bowing to me? For a moment I did nothing until I awkwardly bowed back and they seemed to accept this as conclusive gesture as they turned and walked away, transforming back into a dragon before taking to the skies.

"Helen." Bumblebee's voice was as quiet as a whisper and when I turned to face him, he looked so distraught it brought me physical hurt to look at him. "I thought…I thought I was going to lose you. I wasn't able to save you, forgive me." His hands were framing my face as he spoke so I reached up and gripped onto one of them, giving him a warm smile.

"I had everything completely under control." It was a lie, however it was all I could say that brought a little smile to his face. Without hesitation I embraced him fully and when he wrapped his arms around me, I came to a firm realisation and decision. There was never going to be anyone else in the multiverse like Bumblebee, no one. As I felt an overpowering wave of emotions crush against me I pressed my eyes shut and gripped onto him more tightly, not wanting to ever release him. "I love you Bee." His head moved slightly, raising to look at me before he relaxed and curled his fingertips around my jaw as I allowed my war helmet to recede back and expose more of my face to him.

"I love you too, my neon loving femme." At his endearment I grinned and laughed a little, too wrapped up in the moment until someone coughed and I looked down at Cade.

"As nice as this is you getting everything out in the open, can we go home now?" I scowled at him.

"I am so gonna squish you like a bug Cade, you have terrible timing." Crouching down I flicked him in the chest, making him yelp in protest as he landed on his butt. Before things could escalate, Optimus placed a hand on my shoulder so I checked myself and deigned to behave.

"Autobots, our work here is done and as Cade suggests, it is time we all went home." A pang made me realise that Optimus wasn't talking about my junkyard or California, but Cybertron itself. "Our world has been healed of some of what war has destroyed, the rest we can rebuild and start anew."

"Wait, wait, you mean you're leaving? For good this time?" I asked, turning around and Optimus faced me.

"You are one of us Helen, you are welcome to join us."

"I…I can't just leave, my body is here and I can't move too far away from it or I'll be sucked out of this body and back to it, if I go with you then I'll definitely die." Optimus frowned slightly, obviously distressed by the information and he looked away for a moment before coming to a decision.

"Then we shall return for you. Your place is with us, your family, it is only right that you should be received in honour for all you have done for our race." Inside I was torn. This was not how I planned on everything ending and I was so overwhelmed by it all that I could barely think.

"But how long will that be? Even then, my human body can't live in your atmosphere, not for very long anyway and although it can survive a long time in this body, if I leave it in stasis for too long then it will simply shut down. Optimus I…I don't…I don't know what to do…" Desperately I scrambled for ideas. If I were somehow able to get my body to survive on Cybertron, how would its people view me? I am not pure Cybertronian, I am still human and nothing will ever change that fact. Tenderly Optimus drew me to his side with his hand upon my shoulder.

"We shall find the right path. For now, let us simply bask in our victory, for today, the war is finally at an end." The war. I almost couldn't remember a time before the Autobots and their war which had quickly become mine. This sensation of peace was rather alien to me, but not unwelcome. For the first time since Chicago, since Hong Kong, I was no longer a fugitive.

I was free.


	48. Chapter 48

Now that I was stuck in my Autobot body I found things were a little more difficult. I couldn't work with my ordinary tools and I still wasn't able to go out in public. The first time I had tried, people had shouted and thrown things at me until I'd had no choice but to drive away. Cade was fully exonerated for his supposed crimes and the first thing he did was go and see Tessa, which I couldn't blame him for, I knew how much he missed her and Izabella had gone with him, they were staying at one of my properties which I signed over to him so that he could be near Tessa and I think he was considering fostering Izabella so that she didn't have to go into the system.

After the battle for Earth, I had hoped that the world would see that the Autobots were on our side, however transformers were still declared illegal and every last one of them were forced to leave, even the ones in Cuba and after they learned that Cybertron was being rebuilt, they had not wanted to stay. Well, some of them did, but they were given no choice. The only exception to this law, was me. Me. Since I couldn't leave earth, they had no choice to let me stay to be with my human body, but they made it known that I was not wanted.

So I had been chased back to my junkyard where now it was rather quiet and I felt more isolated than ever before. Even with Cybertron still in the sky now nothing more than a second moon, I felt like they had already moved to the other side of the universe. Bumblebee had refused to leave me, telling me that he would stay by my side until we had figured out a way to stay together forever, however the military had turned on him, threatening to kill him and I had had to wrestle with him to get him on that ship until Optimus forced him to leave. Now that he had his own voice back, he did not hold back in expressing his opinions, calling every single National Leader a jumped up prick who had no compassion or gratitude for everything we had done for them.

That had been the hardest moment, watching that ship leave Earth's atmosphere without really knowing how things were going to end. At least I was in a familiar place. With my body now back in the States, I received daily updates on the condition of the body and sure enough, the energon was slowly knitting me back together. They estimated that at the current rate of healing, it would be another three years before the body was completely restored. Three years. It almost seemed cruel.

Picking up a car door which had been blasted off its frame during our escape, I tossed it onto a scrap pile before continuing to clear up. As I was clearing away the cars which had collapsed across the road, I heard something bleeping from my control station. Frowning I walked over then knelt down, looking at the screens. I'm surprised they were still working, I haven't touched them since I got back. Blowing away some dust I delicately tapped the warning sign and the screen popped up with a heat signature of something coming into Earth's atmosphere. For a moment I just stared at it. You have got to be kidding me.

I couldn't tell what it was, however from the shape and direction it was going to crash land on Earth within the hour and as I had the system calculate the coordinates, it won't land too far away from here. "The work is never done, am I right guys…?" Trailing off I remembered that I was alone. For a moment I considered just leaving it but then my own consciousness started to nudge at me so with a sign, I uploaded the coordinates to my navigation system then head off, speeding through the gates with my flamboyant colours standing out proudly.

And that was how I ended up filling my time. It wasn't much, but whenever an Autobot ship came too close to Earth's atmosphere and got dragged in, I was there to help them. I treated their wounds, fixed their ship and then they would fly on to Cybertron and I would always be left behind, however it did give me a chance to send messages with them to Optimus and Bumblebee. I hoped Wheelie and Brains were doing alright, they've probably made friends with Squeaks by now. Little 'bots have to stick together after all. Also, I hope there's enough space for Grimlock and the others to charge and stampede as they liked, I wonder how big the little ones have grown by now? I missed them a lot, those little critters.

Still, I couldn't let myself feel too sorry for myself, there was still plenty of work to be done. After a few months of me living quietly, the government approached me with a proposition. The day they came I'd heard my warning alarms go off and immediately felt threatened by how many black sedans they were driving up, however when Lennox got out of the head vehicle and called out for me, I'd relaxed a little but not much. I walked out into view, ready to activate my weapons. "You realise you need to ask permission to come here, right? I do own this land, even if I'm a giant robot."

"Yeah well you're a little hard to contact when you don't want to be talked to." Lennox answered dryly though he was smiling. Humming in agreement I lowered myself down a little, crouching as several suits started to get out of their cars with heavily armed escorts. "It's nothing to worry about, they just want to talk."

"So you brought assault rifles and bazookas?"

"Not my idea." I expelled air through my nostrils in a clear sounding snort, shaking my head. "Just listen to what they want to say, please? They just want to ask a few questions and maybe do an exchange of intel."

"We shall see." Sceptical and very wary I stood up again as Lennox walked back to the people all wearing their best uniforms. There were a few decorated with stars, some wore ties and others had identification cards pinned to their pockets and I scanned each of them, memorising the data. Even General Morshower was present and as the last person got out the car, I recognised Mearing immediately. Guess she didn't lose her job after all. Neither of them spoke, however, it was someone else. Someone I did not recognise.

"Miss Clarkson, my name is Thomas Weaving and I am here on behalf of the American government to discuss with you a matter of national security." He informed me before then going on to give me his credentials, naming himself the Secretary of Home Affairs however I continued to simply stand there with my arms folded. This guy is already pissing me off, talking to me like I owe him something. "I am not sure you are aware, however we are somewhat…concerned, with these alien artefacts which have risen up out of the ground. We were wondering if you were able to impart any knowledge that you might have."

"If you are talking about the horns, then I suggest that you leave them alone." I informed him bluntly before jabbing a finger at his chest. "This entire planet is alien to you, you just don't know it yet. Those horns are linked to Cybertron in a way you could not possibly understand and if you want my advice, then I suggest you do not try to unravel the mystery behind them."

"So you know what they are."

"I have a theory."

"Care to share that theory with me?"

"Not particularly, but since you have several weapons pointed at my face, I don't see how I have a choice." Giving a dry look towards Lennox he gave me an apologetic shrug before motioning with my hands to stay calm. "Alright. These horns are exactly that, horns, and I believe them to belong to an ancient being older than most of the multiverse itself. A being called Unicron." I started before I activated my optics to display a hologram image in front of everything from old texts that I had scanned and saved in my database. It showed a horrifying looking monster as it devoured an entire world with surrounding planets and even the sun being sucked in. "The World-Eater. Unicron can devour the very fabric of the universe and space, at least that is what Cybertronian history says and quite frankly, judging by the size of those horns, I wouldn't be surprised if it's true."

"This Unicron, why is it here?"

"Unclear, there are several accounts however the most credible source says that Unicron went into stasis some millennia ago, a type of coma if you like and his twin brother, Primus, did the same and he became Cybertron, whilst Unicron became Earth." I stopped there, choosing not to say anymore however Weaving seemed to know that I wasn't telling him everything.

"So how do we kill this Unicron?"

"You can't dumbass. If you end up waking Unicron, everyone on this planet will die because he won't just _emerge_ , he'll _stand up_ and rip this planet apart in the process." Leaning down so that my face was closer to this Weaving guy, I fixated my optics upon him. "You are nothing but a mere human who does not understand the universe as I do, and even I know very little. Sometimes, a non-violent response is what is needed most." Weaving was silent for a moment, a vein popping in his neck until Mearing stepped forwards.

"Well you heard her Weaving, it's like I've been telling you. In actual fact, we're nothing but parasites on this planet and seeing as we don't have the technology or the knowledge to deal with these problems ourselves, it is vital that we open negotiations with the Autobots. They can help us."

"Help us? They have done nothing but destroy our cities and kill thousands of innocent lives."

"Would you have rather that figure be in the millions?" I questioned, giving him a dark scowl. "Without the Autobots, this planet would be a planet of slavery and Megatron would be using you as a toothpick." Turning around I faced my back to them, signalling we were finished. "You humans are so arrogant, it makes me sick."

"That's rich coming from another human." Weaving responded so I paused and looked back at him.

"Do I look human to you?" He faltered at that, having no response. "We're done."

"Hold on a moment Helen, please." Morshower requested and I respectfully listened. There was too much history at this point, both good and bad, however since it was the old man who'd been there since the very beginning, I pushed down my pride. "Now I know that we have hurt you, we have caused you grief, caused you pain, made you make sacrifices that would have broken anyone else, and for that I am deeply sorry and offer my condolences for the friends you have lost." Around my wrist I felt the necklace my human body used to wear clink and I naturally looked down to it. "There is nothing we can do to change the past and there is nothing that makes you indebted to us or says that you have to agree, but we need your help and we need it now. Optimus Prime is gone, however you're still here."

"I can't leave." I pointed out darkly, turning back around. "So my being here does not mean anything."

"True, but you're here talking to us now. Your security systems gave you ample time to escape if you didn't want to talk to us, so that does tell us something." Mearing pointed out and I shot her a look. She always had been so annoyingly clever. "Your knowledge of Cybertronian technology is unparalleled and your ability to build and create new technology from it can help us. We have a world in chaos, everyone is afraid that they are going to die at any minute, we need to show them that we are ready and prepared for any threat that may come again. You can help us restore order, Helen." She reasoned with me however I instantly knew what she was talking about.

"You want weapons." Again I felt a spark of anger. How dare they? They had no right coming here and making demands of me. "No."

"We are willing to negotiate. Name what it is that you want and we shall see what we can do." Weaving informed me with boredom, cleaning his glasses before sliding them back onto his nose.

"What I want?" With a growl I punched the ground directly in front of him and he gave a girlish shriek as he landed on his rear and all weapons were immediately trained on me. "What I want is for the friends _your_ military groups murdered to be returned to me. I want Jazz and Ratchet, I want Ironhide back from the dead, I want my family with me, I _want_ to belong somewhere I am not considered a freak of nature, where I can exist without people harassing me about saving the world all the time and wanting me to build them weapons of mass destruction. Think you can give me all that?" Weaving gulped so I glowered at him a moment longer before pulling back my hand and standing.

"Easy Hel, don't make this difficult for yourself. They're just here to talk, we don't want any trouble."

"You brought the trouble with you, Lennox. Get out of here, get off my land. Next time, try coming without armed escorts and all your officials at your back to try and get what you want. I will never, _ever_ give you Cybertronian technology. I do not trust you with such power because I know for a fact it would be wielded unwisely."

"You have no right." Weaving said to me as he climbed back to his feet unsteadily. "You have no right to withhold such technology from us! If it is on Earth then it belongs to the humans, _you_ belong to us, you cannot stop progress which is already happening. I can have you incarcerated and put on ice for the rest of your life, don't test me! Freaky monster." My blue eyes flickered for a moment before slowly the purple inner ring grew more intense and overshadowed the blue, a small indication of the huge wealth of rage I felt. I was so angry that I shocked myself when I spoke so calmly.

"Lennox. You have ten seconds to evacuate. Then I start shooting."

"Let's move it! Go! Go! Go! Mr Secretary get back in your car, move it!" Lennox instantly sprang into action and everyone else ran to their cars except for Weaving who just blinked in confusion.

"Wait, she doesn't mean it right?"

"Oh she means it so get in your car and leave right now." To prove my point I lifted an arm and my cannon activated, whirring into life as the cars didn't bother to turn around and straight up reversed out of there. They took a little longer than ten seconds, but I wasn't in the mood to shoot anything today. What a miserable failure of a negotiation, dickheads. Especially that guy, he was a real cunt. Out of frustration I kicked a pile of metal and it shot up into the air before landing somewhere in the distance. God damn it I'm starting to hate this place. I can't work, can't build, can't eat or sleep for fear of drifting back into my other body and becoming trapped in the coma.

As the stars began to appear I climbed up onto the roof and watched them before then looking towards Cybertron. I don't know what they were doing right now, but they hadn't moved very far from Earth. They weren't planning on staying there, were they? They had no atmosphere, no gravity, right? Could they even go back to where they used to be? It must be strange, living on a floating planet which was practically just a giant ship and at its core, the heart of Primus. I guess you could say I've learned a few things out of curiosity. Cogman had been kind enough to direct me to the books and ledgers I needed to read to find out about Cybertron's past, specifically a book in the Trinity Library of London, the book of Cyber-Kells. Cogman had also given me the page that Burton, god rest his soul, had ripped out.

I was disappointed to learn that Burton had been killed by Megatron at Stonehenge, it had made me all the more glad I had put a sword through his back. I had hoped that Burton wouldn't have minded me going to stay with him whilst I waited for my human body to recover, but with him gone, it wouldn't have been right. Turns out that Burton had a great nephew who inherited everything and upon learning about all the alien collections Burton had, the teenager had become grossly interested and now he and Simmons worked together to secure the Witwiccan legacy and had even inducted me into it as a member so I was now a picture on the Wall of Fame with my name in the huge book that listed all past and present members.

At least some humans in this world still liked the idea of giant alien robots.


	49. Chapter 49

They came back the next day only this time, they seemed to have taken my advice. Only a few cars pulled up and there were only a few security guys. Weaving didn't come back. Lennox came up to greet me and apologised about yesterday. "We brought you a little something. Or rather someone." Beckoning me to follow I did so, my large steps much slower than his but easily keeping pace, in fact I had to slow down just to make sure I didn't step on him. Lennox brought me within some ten metres of the cars before giving a signal and one of the security guards opened the door.

When an average sized man stepped out with a scruffy beard dusting his jaw, wearing a pair of faded jeans and a flannel shirt. Crushed under the weight of shock, I fell to my knees as I stared. "Sam?" He smiled at me, he smiled. That same goofy smile that I could remember him having ever since we were kids. "Sammy, it's you."

"Hey Hel, it's good to see you again." He'd grown older, a lot older than I would have thought. Since the both of us were nearing our thirties, I guess it was naturally. If I could cry I would have been bawling by now as Sam stopped in front of me and lifted his hand to my face, looking at me with an understanding that only we had. "I hear you've been saving the world without me, I can't believe you didn't invite me along."

"Big ass robot or not, Carly would have killed me." I told him and we both laughed lightly until I lowered my head down further and Sam hugged my neck. This couldn't get any better. Years of missing my best friend rushed at me all at once before melting away into nothing, a warmth spreading through me as I felt just a little more whole. "How you been Sammy?"

"I'm okay. Carly and I got married. We have a daughter and she'll be three in two months' time, blonde hair, blue eyes, she's my little angel."

"Oh my god Sammy, you're a daddy! Do you have pictures? Please tell me you have pictures." Smiling broadly Sam pulled out his phone and showed me the pictures of his little cherub, a beautiful little girl with blonde toughs and the cheekiest smile I ever saw. She was the spitting image of Carly, however that mischievousness was definitely all Sam. "She's beautiful, absolutely beautiful. What's her name?" I asked him, half expecting him to say Xena or Mary-Jane or something totally nerdy which I would totally approve of.

"Helen. We named her Helen." Stopping short I felt a huge bubble swell in my chest, touched and honoured that Sam named his daughter after me. "It didn't feel right not having my best friend at my wedding or at my daughter's christening, so Carly and I agreed that we would always make sure that we'd have a memory of you with us. Whenever I look at Helen now, I keep on thinking about the things you used to do. Look, there's even a photo here of her getting hold of these glitter paints that my mom bought."

"Dear god she takes after me. I knew we were related somehow Sammy." I declared with a laugh and we talked to one another privately for a few minutes more before I glanced across to where Lennox and a few officials were waiting. "Why did they bring you here Sam?"

"Guess they want me to persuade you to give them what they want. I said I'd come, but I never said I'd try and convince you." He said and I had to smile at that. "All this talk about increasing our defences and preparing for another attack, they don't know what they're talking about but we do, right Hel? I think you're making the right choice though they're going to fight you on it every step of the way, maybe even try force you but you can't give in to them, you just can't."

"Don't worry Sam, I'll take care of it. It's not like they can make my life any more difficult that it's been already, am I right?" Smiling knowingly at one another we both walked over to the others and this time, I allowed them to plead their case and I listened attentively. They wanted blaster cannons, plasma guns and all kinds of weaponry which I did not feel comfortable giving to them. "No." I said again and they all blinked at me.

"You must understand Miss Clarkson, this is a matter of national security, the security of the whole world!"

"You want security? Fine. There's a big ass planet up there with a whole bunch of metal badass transformers who have and will defend this planet so long as they are needed. I will not give you the technology to destroy, not when it's not mine to give. I refuse. You talk of progress like you think you know what comes next but in reality, you're just trying to skip the tutorial and grab the prize at the end. We're not there yet, we do not have the mental comprehension or sensibility to use weapons of such mass destruction it makes a nuclear bomb look like a party popper." Standing upright I waved a hand at them. "If you think of something else that I might be able to help with, just contact me via communications and stop dragging your butts out here, it's a waste of your time."

"Miss Clarkson, you understand that by refusing, you could very well be declared an enemy of the state again."

"Pft, like that threat worked on me last time. Bring it on if that's the road you want to go down, but think about this. If you chase me into hiding which I happen to be very good at, I did hide from the entire world for seven years after all, what if I disappear and you really truly _do_ need my help but I can't be found? Do you really want me to go underground when I could still be of use to you? There are things I can share with you, you just have to know what they are."

"Miss Clarkson…"

"God damn it didn't you get the memo? My parents disowned me, I don't go by that name anymore." At my harsh tone the officials all jumped before quickly retreating back to their cars.

"Tried to tell them." Lennox said to me a little smugly.

"Too bad they don't listen to you more often. Tell them that when you're actually in charge and start calling the shots, then I'll deal with them." I said to him before I nodded my head in farewell.

"Want a ride home Sam?"

"Nah, think I'll stay here a while." Sam answered, leaning against a broken up car. "I got a ride of my own."

"Damn straight. Hey Sammy, want to go flying?"

"Sure." Folding down I transformed into my jet form and slid the roof open so that Sam could climb up and his face was alight with excitement just like it used to whenever we were around the Autobots. He used the scrap cars to climb up before he dropped down into the seat, pulled on the harness and wriggled with anticipation. "Alright I'm ready, let's go!" Laughing I closed the top then fired up my engines, keeping in place as I gathered energy before all at once we shot forwards. "WOO!"

"Still the same Sammy." I chuckled as I flew off into the skies and rolled over, Sam yelling and cheering all the while as I took him for a flight into the sky. We soared over city and land, gliding leisurely and we talked for hours and hours as I flew him across the states before then taking him home to Carly. She was sitting on the porch of her house with Helen when we got there and after I'd landed and transformed, then put Sam down on the ground, Carly had risen to greet us both and I finally met little Helen.

For a two year old she was fearless, not even crying when I knelt down to her and even giggling as I lifted her up into the sky whilst she clung to my thumb. I was happy. For that little time that I stayed with Sam and Carly, I was happier than I had been in month but at the same time, it woke me up to reality. Here they were moving on with their lives, starting a family and working for steady wages. They were human. Perfectly human. I didn't have that. When I left to return back to my junkyard I looked around all the junk and this time, I couldn't see the treasure. It was all crap, scrap, rusting garbage and before I knew it, I was blasting it all to pieces whilst screaming to try and sate this feeling of coldness inside. I knew now that I did not belong here, but I also knew that I couldn't sit around and just wait.

The next morning I contacted Lennox and announced that I was willing to help build new technology for the world, however I had terms, conditions and compromises that had to be adhered to or there was no deal and that, ladies and gentlemen, was how I started working for the good of the human race, or at least that's what they told me and as much as they tried to guide me in my creations, I wasn't that dumb. In fact, the project I was working on currently wasn't for them at all, well, it was, but not entirely. It was also for me.

Long range communication space emitter. Yup.

I'm building a freaking telephone to Cybertron.

Three years passed by more slowly than you could ever possibly imagine and even after the three year period was over, my other body was in such a deep catatonic state that the doctors were convinced it was dead, but I knew it wasn't. It was a battle just to get my body back and in the end I just took it, reaching in through the window and grabbing it off the bed. The nurse had shrieked but I'd just rolled my eyes and walked away with my human form.

I was exhausted and in desperate need to offline myself for a while. Since Cybertron's collision with earth, the humans had now seen technological advances surpassing their century and even then, I'd limited their access. Instead of weapons, I built them communication towers, defence shields to protect against Mother Nature and enemy attacks, improved computer technology and even gave them the stepping stone to a renewable energy to last them centuries. They were moving along so quickly with technology now anyway, I doubted I could have stopped them. They would have figured it out eventually, all I could do was guide them in the right direction in taking care of their planet and people first before thinking about the military forces.

Even though I had been successful in making contact with Cybertron, I was disallowed access and not permitted to communicate. They said that they could not risk me accidentally summoning Autobots back to Earth. I think they were just dicks about it. Of course, I managed to get a few messages through every now and then but after the first few, I ran out of things to say and I was never able to receive their replies, so I stopped altogether.

As for all my properties, I sold them and used the money to build better water sources in third world countries. Nobody really told me no when I set my mind to do something, so when I used advanced alien technology to build a filter system which channelled water into a huge reservoir and sent it to as many villages as I could make it sustain, no one stopped me. It kept my focus, helping people and after about a year people started to hail me as a hero. When I was in Africa they painted my body with brightly coloured paints and danced around a fire in celebration and I had enjoyed the festivities. It wasn't so lonely when I was helping people, because that way I wasn't alone.

Soon enough the humans themselves were taking over my work and with the last of my money I gave to Izabella and told her not to spend it all in one place when she hit eighteen. With no land, no home and nothing left to do, I took to wandering. I travelled the world as I had always wanted but it had lost its charm as many of the landmarks I had wanted to see had been destroyed, even the pyramids in Egypt.

With my body still healing and not responding when I tried to transfer my mind across, I gave up trying to stay awake and folded down, resigning myself to whatever fate, even if I became like Jetfire. Transforming into my sleek car form, I finally allowed myself to go into stasis and it was like slowly turning down the dial to switch off the light, or falling asleep but being completely aware that you were drifting off. My human body was with Cade, tucked up in his spare room so I wasn't worried about it, I can just sleep now, that's all I need. Sleep.


	50. Chapter 50

When something from the outside brought me back online it was like an electric shock to the heart. It gave me such a kick that my body transformed before I could even think about it, stumbling clumsily as my balance was non-existent and my head was ringing as my processors started to slowly kick start my systems again. "Holy crap what was that?! It felt like a damn elephant dart to the frigging face!"

"Yeah, she's back. That definitely her."

"Told you bro, we were in and out like ninja!" Hold up, wait a second, I know those voices, they were unmistakable and unforgettable. "Yo! You gonna get up or what gurl?"

"Skids? Mudflap?"

"The one and only twins, dat's right!" They agreed and as I lifted my head, I found myself in a place so strange and unfamiliar that for a moment I was afraid. "Hey don't look so scared girl, you on Cybertron now!"

"Cybertron? But how…DID YOU JACKASSES KIDNAP ME AND SHOOT ME UP WITH ELECTRICITY? I THOUGHT I WAS ON A BAD TRIP OR SOMETHING!" Yelling at the top of my lungs I lunged for them and they both screeched in fear but when I tackled them both with a hug, they froze in place, shocked. "Dear god I missed you two so much, I can't believe I'm actually saying this. Maybe I'm just dreaming or something."

"Uh…nope?" Shaking my head as I stepped back to clear my thoughts I looked around. We were in a large spacious room built similarly to the Cybertronian spaceships I've seen. From the looks of things, I had been placed inside a large dome shaped contraption which was still sparking with power from where the twins had fired me back up. "The boss felt like something was wrong so we went and rescued you, dang all the 'bots wanted a piece of the action we wanted you back so bad!"

"Wait, you're telling me that you guys took me from Earth as a car and brought me to this chamber, shot me up with energon and electricity and brought me back online? What about my human body?"

"We got that too, though it weren't actually us that brought you back, nah. That was Bumblebee and Sideswipe as a two man team, and that human dude Cade handed over your human body. Check it, it's right over here." Excitedly they lead me over to a pod like capsule of smooth blue glass with life sign readings lighting up the sheer surface, my face peacefully sleeping inside. It was placed up upon some kind of harness with tubes feeding into it, managing the oxygen levels and feeding me nutrients via inhalation.

"You guys came for me?"

"Sure we did, weren't you listen to a thing we were tellin' you?" Skids demanded incredulously before shaking his head. "Now dat's just rude."

"We ain't supposed to be in here but Skids here wanted to come check it out. I think we pushed some buttons, maybe accidentally fell on something then boom baby you were waking up." Mudflap admitted to me and no sooner had he finished the sound of doors sliding apart with a heavy clang made them both shriek and cling to one another in terror.

"Who activated the revive system?!" Optimus's voice boomed around however the moment he saw me standing upright and awake he froze in place. "Spark…" I flew at him, literally. With an added kick of my thrusters I cleared the room in a heartbeat and crashed into his chest as his arms rose to meet me. My chest bloomed like a flower of fire, awakening from its long hibernation and everything was clearer and sharper than it had ever been before, bursting with brilliant pulses and smooth vibrations which I could feel happening to him as well as our sparks connected and reached out to one another.

"You came for me." Recovered Optimus curled one hand around my head and the other upon my back, looking down at me with a soft smile.

"Of course little spark, did you think we had forgotten you?"

"Well…I did wonder." Teasing him slightly I lifted my smile to his, drinking in his features. "The twins told me you had me recovered in secret, aren't you worried about pissing off the human race again?"

"Let them try and keep you from me. Not even Unicron himself could keep you away from me." I chuckled at the irony of his words before leaning my cheek into his chest again, listening to the pulsing of his spark like it were my own symphony. "We have worked to make this world a suitable place for you ever since we parted ways. Everything is ready for you, my spark, the conditions are exactly as you would find them on Earth, including a greenhouse in order to grow human food and an atmosphere suitable for your form."

"Atmosphere?" I frowned in momentary confusion before it clicked. "You…you _built_ your own atmosphere?"

"Of course, we needed the correct levels of oxygen and natural gases for your human form to breathe as well as gravity to keep you grounded. Come, it is safe for you to return to your old form now, little spark, come and see your new home." Taking a deep breath I nodded before folding down into my car before then backing up into a parking bay where I was secured by the wall itself, clamps pushing outward and locking around my wheels to keep me secure. It was then that I realised that I was having the exact same problem with transferring my mind as I had in the begging. I had to _want_ it. Really want it. Like before, I had been unable to transfer at will because I did not want a new form. In this case, I had not wanted to return to being human but now, what I wanted more than anything was to go outside and breathe in Cybertronian air.

The quiet purr of my engine came to a gradual silence and I felt my mind slip into limbo, seeking out the other part of me that was connecting us until finally, I drew in a deep gulp of air. For a moment I woozy and light headed, my head rolling forwards and bobbing a little until slowly my focus came back to me. From the inside of the pod I could only see my reflection but when I delicately touched the glass with my fingertips it hissed and pulled back to open the way for me and immediately I locked eyes with Bumblebee.

"You're home." He murmured to me with a reverence like he were worshiping the stars. My throat closed off with emotion as I slowly walked forwards, taking careful steps because I felt shaky and a little weak. His face was exactly level with me as I took another step forwards and the wall surface immediately pushed out to form a walkway for me, as if it were responding to my needs. Smiling with unbound feelings I reached for Bumblebee until I held his face in my hands, scarcely able to believe that this was real. Before my mind could catch up with my body I closed my eyes and leaned forwards, kissing Bumblebee upon the smooth disk of his mouth. It was all I could do which would convey everything all at once. How I felt, how I had missed him, how I never wanted to be away from him ever again and everything else that was yet to be spoken.

"I'm home." I finally agreed, giving a tearing laugh as I pulled back. "I'm really home." Whirring softly the way he always used to Bee leaned closer and I nuzzled my head against his before he let me step into his palm and he lowered me to the ground where I walked over to his side to Optimus who, to my amusement, had his hands clamped around the twins' faces to stop them from talking and interrupting us. Grinning broadly up at him he surprised me with a wink, making me grin all the more as he let the twins go and we all walked towards the grand doors over twice the size of Optimus.

They rolled aside slowly, sending a rush of light over me so bright that it was almost blinding until I passed the threshold and my feet touched the ground of Cybertron. Before me was an ocean of grass unlike that of earth. It was soft and almost moss like and far richer in colour. Staring around me in awe I walked out into the open, ripples of a breeze evident as the springy grass became streaked with silver before then, to my absolute joy, it started to chance colour going from green to a beautiful deep scarlet as if it were personally welcoming me here.

Turning a circle I could see a glittering city with spires and buildings crafted into the surface of the planet which was slowly being restored to its former glory. My eyes were as wide as they could be, shining a metallic bronze as I looked up to the clear blue sky which was filled with flying Cybertronians, Autobots. They were flocking to the city more than they were leaving it but still it was incredible to see them fly like flocks of birds. By this point tears were streaming down my face and I could do nothing but look. There were mountains in the distance and sloping hills with the dark granite like rocks peeking through in clusters and some of them floated, rising up and down with a gravitational current and I childishly wanted to go and jump on them.

Suddenly I heard a roar and a huge shape came charging straight towards me and my voice sang with laughter. Grimlock skid to a halt before me, stomping his massive claws as he gave another roar of excitement and prowled around me, snuffling and snorting at me as I laughed. "Grimlock! I told you I'd see you again, didn't I? Who's a good boy? I hope you've been behaving yourself." Grabbing onto his nose I smiled, stroking his long face and he growled affectionately at me before suddenly lifting his head and I yelped, clinging on for extra grip before he then deposited me onto his back. "Looks like we're going for a tour, you guys coming?"

"You bet. I'll race you Grimlock." Bumblebee challenged, folding down into his bright canary yellow and Optimus gave a chuckle before leaping into the skies. Unable to stop smiling Grimlock released a bolt of flames into the sky before taking off and I gripped onto one of the slates of his neck to hang on. He charged across the land and I saw everything fleeting past. There were parts that were still being rebuilt, however everything was starting to take shape and as Grimlock jumped onto one of the large cables to cross it, I looked down and saw a waterfall on one of the lower levels tumbling down deeper into the planet. It was so colossal that it put Niagara Falls to shame.

Before I knew it we had passed a rainforest, a desert and I'm pretty sure in the distance I saw a polar ice cap. All that became inconsequential, however, when Grimlock roared once more and this time, others answered. Slug, Strafe and Scorn rushed to join the charge as well as the little ones who weren't so little anymore. They were half the size of their predecessors and they all squawked and greeted me with their voices, Rex even trying to jump at me however Grimlock snapped his giant maw to keep him off. "Easy now, I'll say hello to you all I promise." I laughed before lifting my head.

Ahead was the ship we'd commandeered in Chicago, resting on top of a huge…I don't even know if it was a building or not, it looked just like the other structures on Cybertron but as Autobots started to emerge and yell to one another, I realised that it could very well be their headquarters. I saw Sideswipe, Dino, Crosshairs, Drift, Hound, Brains, Wheelie, everyone. I could see everyone and even those of the ones I had rescued on Earth. As Rex lifted his nose up to me I slid down onto it and he flattened himself into the ground to let me jump off and I rubbed his nose affectionately before turning around.

"Helen's back! Helen's come to Cybertron! Wake up you deadbeat bitches, the boss's sparkling has come home!" Hound was bellowing and as I ran forwards, I was soon surrounded by everyone who were chattering and welcoming me like one of their own. Brains and Wheelie were sobbing as they flung themselves onto my legs and I gathered them up into my arms to embrace them until something bumped the back of my legs and I turned around to find Squeaks. Laughing I embraced him too, rubbing his helmet with everyone still excitedly yelling until they lifted me up into the air. Hot Rod excitedly welcomed me to my new home, still stuck with his French accent and as I was being jostled and tossed around, Cogman suddenly appeared and after a quick bark, I was dropped into his arms.

"There we are, much better. Apologies my lady, I am still attempting to teach these _invertebrates_ proper etiquette." He informed me with his posh manner of address and I grinned as Crush snorted on him, covering him in a snot like gunk. "Disgusting."

"Cogman! It's good to see you again." He bowed politely before apologising again for the less than suitable greeting of the others however we were swiftly interrupted when Sideswipe insisted on introducing me to _his_ twin, Sunstreaker. I met so many old and new faces that day that I was soon overwhelmed, but before it became too much Optimus ordered everyone to step back and give me space. I was taken inside and shown around but the place was so big I could probably explore for the rest of my human life and never see everything. That is, if I had a normal human life. I've already determined that my body was never going to age and possibly never die of natural causes considering how I survived the last battle.

Bumblebee stuck to my side, lifting me up onto a ledge before opening the roof of the highest room to reveal the stars which were brighter and more beautiful than I had ever seen them before. The sky was painted with colours that moved and swirled before my eyes. "Amazing." I breathed, wonderstruck. Lifting up his hand Bumblebee presented me with something and when I looked, I saw my necklace in his palm.

"I kept it safe for you whilst you were sleeping. Cade said he found it next to you whilst you were in stasis." Quickly I gripped onto the necklace, astonished that I hadn't even realised that I hadn't been wearing it and quickly clasped it around my neck, gripping onto all four rings tightly until they left deep imprints in my skin. "It truly means a great deal to you, tell me Helen, I have been wondering this for a long while…were you and Jazz ever…" Bumblebee trailed off and I blinked for a moment, surprised by his question.

"No, nothing ever like that. We were best friends, like I was with Sam." I said and I watched as his shoulders went lax. "Jazz and I had a special bond because we spent so much time with one another, practically every waking moment. It was just him and me after Mission City because I was desperate to escape my home and he gave me that. Bee, I loved Jazz and I will always love the memory of him, but I love you here and now. I already have rings from the people I loved most in the world, even though I was lucky that one of them came back, if yours was ever to end up on this chain…I don't think I could ever come back from that."

"You will not have to worry for such a fate. I am with you and I shall not leave you, nor let anyone take you from me. My spark is yours Helen, I always knew that you were different from every other human that ever walked that planet. It makes you special." Smiling to him I leaned forwards and kissed lightly, a smirk tugging at the corner of my lips as I did so.

"You're such a sweet talker Bee." Murmuring quietly I traced his features with delicate touches from roughened fingertips hardened from years of hard work and manual labour. "I hope you know that it's working, so keep on talking as much as you like." Bumblebee made a laughing sound through the radio and my smile widened further. Still Bumblebee. My Bumblebee. Gazing at one another, I became a little lost in thought as I gazed at his luminous eyes.

"What are you thinking about?" He asked me quietly, my fingers still brushing against the side of his face.

"Neon." I murmured before smiling once again. "Your eyes. They're neon blue. No wonder I like you so much." With a final harmony of laughter Bumblebee and I turned our faces back to the stars and for the first time in over a decade, I felt a strong sense of home, of belonging. Here was where I was wanted, here was where I was meant to be. Out of all the possibilities in the universe, I thanked the heavens that I was given this life because no matter how much hardship and pain I faced, I always had something that I believed worth fighting for and, when Optimus knighted me and officially gave me the name Prime, I felt as if I had been made anew.

Helen Prime.

For years to come, Earth knew that name. I was their champion, their liaison between humans and Autobots who were now neighbours and eventually, the wounds of the past began to heal. Helen Prime. I carried that name with so much pride that it would make me glow on the inside. After years of searching, I had finally found my place with a people I never thought I would meet, with a father I never believed I would ever have and a soul whom I came to love with all of my being until our sparks became one and we lived together making up for all lost time.

So, if you ever find yourself lying on the ground and gazing up into the sky, please pick a star. It does not have to be the brightest, or the largest, just any star that you feel drawn to. Look at that star, and when you do, think of it as my soul. Because that is where I am.

Among the stars.


End file.
